Boston University students seek action following four sexual assaults on campus

By Chloe Adams

November 5, 2023

Boston University’s Silber Way bus stop off of Commonwealth Avenue is typically a busy spot for students to cluster in front of, but on a chilly Tuesday morning with students wearing puffer jackets and hats, more students appeared to be walking to class.

While some students feared the shuttle would not arrive in time, Hadysha Miller, a BU junior majoring in behavior and health, pondered something else while waiting at the bus stop: An open city campus leaves her vulnerable to non-BU community members also hitching a ride.

After the university’s alert system notified students about four sexual assaults that occurred in one week, students said they want BU to lift the mace and pepper spray ban so they can better defend themselves in the case of an on-campus attack.

“Especially being alone at night without a group, you always have to be hypervigilant about what’s going on — there’s always uncertainty when you’re on campus,” said Miller.

Two perpetrators from unrelated incidents are responsible for inappropriately touching four students on campus. The first perpetrator — a man around 30 years old — was arrested after assaulting a student inside of a BU bus and another student east of campus. The second perpetrator is still on the loose after riding away from the victims on his bicycle on the Charles River Esplanade near the Silber Footbridge and Bay State Road.

BU’s current policy strictly prohibits possession of mace and pepper spray, and this includes those with firearm identification cards. However, according to Massachusetts General Law, chapter 140 section 122C states, “People over 18 can have pepper spray, mace or other ‘self defense’ spray without an FID card.” 

Sol Sanchez, BU’s chapter president of It’s On Us, a social movement that fights against sexual assault on college campuses, said efforts to change the university’s policy has been in the works for years.

“Pepper spray is really hard because there’s obviously concerns about any health issues and other issues that can arise with the mishandling of it in a situation,” said Sanchez, a BU senior majoring in psychology and neuroscience. “Hopefully we’ll see some action on that behalf soon.”

Dona Bonnie, a sophomore business major, said BU needs to reevaluate the pepper spray ban and take into consideration the factors that go into attending a city school.

“We are an open campus, and it’s not like BU can change the infrastructure of our school to make it a closed campus," said Bonnie. “Anyone can really come onto our campus.”

Since pepper spray is allowed under the state, Erin Matthews, a BU sophomore business major, said she is critical of the university’s ability to counter that law since the campus is not private.

“I feel like they [BU] can’t really make that a rule… We’re in the city,” said Matthews.

Other nearby schools, such as Suffolk University, permits students to carry self-defense spray in campus buildings, except in residence halls. Boston College also allows students to possess these sprays as long as they have FID cards and written permission from campus police.

As BU continues to weigh out factors that go into lifting the ban, Sanchez said It’s On Us will keep educating people about the issue at hand because information can prevent future attacks.

More than 50% of all college sexual assaults are found to occur at the beginning of the fall semester — also known as the “Red Zone,” according to a 2022 article published in the Trauma, Review and Abuse journal.

Sanchez said this is because freshmen tend to lack safety knowledge when they are first introduced to a new campus, so raising awareness is a “quick and simple move” to promote safety. 

Despite how college freshmen are vulnerable to this issue, they are not the only population impacted by it.

“Sexual assault happens everywhere and can happen to anyone… It doesn’t discriminate,” said Sanchez.