Student assaulted in dorm

Fairchild Hall was given a rude awakening Sept. 6 when a first-year was assaulted in her dorm room. The student sustained serious facial injuries including a fractured skull and numerous bruises on her face and forearm.

Just over a week later, Delucas Lucas, 19, was arraigned on charges of attempted aggravated murder, attempted rape and aggravated burglary for the assault. Although he did not confess to the Fairchild assault, Lucas did confess to an assault behind Keep Cottage in the spring semester of 1998 and an unrelated robbery. Lucas, a senior at Oberlin High School, worked on campus as a part-time Marriott employee in Stevenson.

Lucas' pre-trial hearing was in late April, and the jury trial will be held June 28.

According to police reports, the assailant probably entered Fairchild through an open window in the Fairchild Co-op. Upon entering, the attacker took an attachment from the industrial mixer in the kitchen and proceeded to the second floor. He first entered a room where two students were sleeping. When one of the two spoke to him, he left and then entered the room where the victim was sleeping. He then hit her repeatedly with the mixer attachment. The victim managed to reason with her assailant, convincing him to leave.

Students saw a man resembling the suspect leaving Fairchild, throwing something into the bushes as he left. The police retrieved the mixer attachment from the bushes and fingerprints were taken.

The victim was very cooperative in identifying her assailant. "Before he walked into the line-up room she had picked him out. She remained calm and collected throughout the entire line-up and investigation," said Oberlin Police Sergeant Kyle Machalak.

Lucas waived his right to a pre-trial hearing, going straight to the grand jury. He was being held with a $500,000 bond.

However, there was a setback. Lucas's lawyer, Kirk L. Perry, failed to attend a Jan. 28 pretrial as well as a Feb. 4 hearing.

The victim returned to campus following her recovery to finish the first semester. "She is an amazingly strong woman," said Director of Residential Life Yeworkwha Belachew.

The aftermath

Students all over campus, especially those living in Fairchild Hall were traumatized by the incident that happened so early in the semester.

"This dorm has a lot of first-years, and it has been stressful," said a Fairchild resident who wished to remain anonymous.

Following the assault, the College issued an all campus mailing explaining the incident. Several steps were made to increase security around Fairchild. Security increased their patrols and secured buildings that had been vulnerable.

Safety is not the total responsibility of Campus Safety and Security, however, "The dorms are only as safe as people make them. They are safe as long as people are fastidious with keeping doors closed [and locked]," said Dascomb Resident Coordinator and sophomore Andy Karlson-Webber.

Junior Maral Shu expressed the feelings of many students. "This is no longer a safe campus," she said. "I've never thought about locking my door at night. We've locked ourselves out of our room because we've been so diligent about keeping our doors locked.

Alex Bumpers, a RC in Langston Hall, agreed. "A lot of Oberlin students get in their mind that Oberlin is a Utopia. Even in a safe haven like Oberlin you get a wake-up call once in a while."