In Two Students Assaulted On Campus; Victims Call for Increased Security Measures, the Commentator has shed some light on the Palo Alto Mystery Man, AKA Raphael Mahpour. The full text of the article follows.
Two Students Assaulted On Campus
Victims Call for Increased Security Measures
By Alan Goldsmith
Published: Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Two Yeshiva students were assaulted as they returned to the Wilf Campus early Sunday morning, January 31. The attack occurred at the corner of 185th Street and Audubon Avenue, only 15 feet from the security booth adjacent to Parking Lot A.
The guard on duty reacted slowly, at first reporting the incident as a low-priority altercation between local residents, and watched as the students were attacked. He finally radioed for backup after one of the students ran to the booth and requested assistance.
At approximately 4:30 a.m. that morning, Raphael Mahpour, YC '06, and two of his friends were walking back to campus from the 1/9 subway station. They walked up St. Nicholas Avenue and turned onto 185th Street, passing by the Schottenstein Center. As they crossed Audubon Avenue, one of the friends noticed an African-American male in his early twenties, approximately 6'4", walking along the other side of 185th Street.
After the students crossed Audubon Avenue, all facing towards Amsterdam Avenue, on the parking lot side, one of Mahpour's friends felt something hit the back of his neck. At that point, the friend turned around and recognized the individual he had noticed moments earlier. The assailant, meanwhile, grabbed Mahpour's shoulder from behind with his left arm, spun him around and slammed his right fist into Mahpour's eye.
At that point, the third student turned around and saw the assault occurring. The assailant returned his attention to the student he had initially hit. He began swinging in his direction, but the student blocked his punches and ducked and weaved to avoid further blows.
Mahpour, meanwhile, yelled to the security guard in the booth nearby, but his screams for help were only met with a blank look from the guard. "I still have the picture in my mind of his blank face staring at us, watching us get attacked," said Mahpour.
Seeing Mahpour in trouble, the third student ran over to the booth and banged on the window. The guard indicated that he had called for backup and that help was on the way, but remained in the booth as the assailant continued to throw punches and yell profanities at the second student.
Then, a Hispanic man, who apparently knew the assailant, came running and grabbed him, asking why he had assaulted the students and told him to stop. The assailant continued to curse, while telling the other man, "I'm just playing with them."
Expecting to see that a security guard was right behind him, the second student turned east periodically in vain. Instead, he took several steps back, establishing some distance from the assailant. He pulled out his cellular phone and called 911, talking loudly so that the assailant would know that the police were being summoned.
The assailant's friend then grabbed him and started dragging him away from the fight, slowly leading him northward on Audubon Avenue. As the two walked out of sight, a van filled with several security guards pulled up. The guards inquired as to the condition of the students, and called Hatzolah. The students were eager to go into the van with the guards and find the assailant, but the guards refused, saying that they did not want to put the students in any more danger.
The backup guards asked the guard at the booth what had occurred, as the students yelled at him for not helping them. One of the backup guards then interjected, "He didn't realize that you guys were a part of YU. Only when {the third student} ran after him did he know to call for backup."
However, both students who were attacked were wearing black yarmulkes, and the corner of 185th Street and Audubon Avenue is illuminated by two large streetlights. The third student was wearing a cap when he ran over to the guard at the booth, yet it was his presence which alerted the guard that Yeshiva students were involved in the altercation.
Hatzolah and the police came shortly thereafter. After Mahpour was briefly questioned by police regarding the assault, Hatzoloh took him to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a corneal abrasion that is currently healing.
The next day, as Mahpour was recovering in his room in Rubin Hall, a security guard entered his room, to check on his condition. However, soon the interchange turned unpleasant, as the guard insisted that the actions taken by the guard in the booth were appropriate. Eventually, as both Mahpour and the guard raised their voices, another student entered the room and calmed the situation, diffusing the argument by asking the guard to leave.
Mahpour and his friends, dissatisfied with the service they had received from security, aired their grievances with Dean Efrem Nulman, Senior University Dean of Students, and Donald Sommers, Chief of the Department of Security and Safety. While he was assured that this was an isolated incident that did not reflect how security should and does operate campus, Mahpour wanted to increase student awareness of the incident and ensure that the lack of response displayed by the security guard did not repeat itself in the future.
Mahpour then appeared on the WYUR show "Dead Air" on February 3, speaking about the incident and his concerns regarding security. The show's host, Zechariah Mehler, encouraged listeners to join him and Mahpour in going to the Office of Safety and Security the next day and telling Mr. Sommers what they thought about the state of security on campus.
At 12:20 p.m. the next day, Mehler, Mahpour and twenty students went to Belfer Hall to speak with Mr. Sommers, who was joined by Dean Nulman and David Himber, university dean of students. Due to the large turnout, the meeting was moved from Mr. Sommers's office to Weissberg Commons, where the incident and overall security were discussed for over an hour.
Mr. Sommers told the students that the guard on duty the night of the incident was not disciplined, but was reassigned to a less-sensitive post, and is currently receiving extensive training. "I find fault with him for not reacting in a better fashion, not doing something to provide backup in the situation," he said.
However, the chief added that the incident did not reflect how security personnel have performed over the years. "Over fourteen years, my feeling is (that) these guys have done a job that I don't see the police doing in this community," said Mr. Sommers. "For the action of one guy, in one evening, being slow on the rebound, don't carpet the entire department. They have taken it on themselves to jump into these situations."
The flexibility of what guards are required or allowed to do in such cases is restricted. Security guards, depending on their training and position, are restricted by state law in the use of physical force, and most security guards in Yeshiva are not armed. However, Mr. Sommers did state that they are expected to make their presence known to intruders, to call for backup and to do what is possible to rectify threats to student safety.
Individual students brought up cases of guards who had slept while on duty or engaged in otherwise inappropriate conduct. Mr. Sommers told them that guards who slept on duty would be fired, and that students need to keep his office informed about the guards' job performance.
Various students contributed ideas for improving safety, including placing panic buttons in or near security booths that would trigger lights or sirens; improving street lighting; and having Yeshiva College offer a course in self-defense. Another idea was to increase intercampus shuttle service, at least on Thursday and Saturday nights. Students said that if a van ran as infrequently as every two hours overnight, they would be able to return from midtown to the Wilf Campus in a safer manner.
Mr. Sommers stated that his office is looking into increased siren equipment and installing a camera on 185th Street and Audubon, the one major location on Wilf Campus that does not have video surveillance. Increased police presence and proactive patrols have also been requested.
In the days since the assault, more security guards have been present near the intersection where the assault occurred, often in parked security vehicles. Mahpour has created YUstudents.com, which contains his account of the assault and also functions as a general website for Yeshiva students, containing cartoons, upcoming events and forums.
Dean Nulman emphasized that the Yeshiva administration would be responsive to the safety needs of its students. "This circumstance was not our shining moment, but... don't wash away our accomplishments because of it. We have a sense of responsibility. We have to fix what is broken."
