As heightened police presence accompanied numerous TV news vans across campus, members of the Brandeis community reacted with caution to the assaults on students in the Village and Shapiro residence hall Dec. 3.Charlotte Benham '07 reported that a man wearing a blue and green jacket and a blue baseball cap physically attacked her Dec. 3 in her room at around 4 a.m, according to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan. Three Shapiro residents reported an individual of a similar description had entered their rooms about the same time that morning, Callahan said.

Callahan said the investigation of the attacks was "moving slowly, and that his department was looking into a possible connection between last week's incidents and a report of a similar episode that occurred at Framingham State College in September.

"Apparently, someone went into a room and obviously kind of startled people in the early morning hours," he said of Framingham incident. "I just have hit or miss information, but we follow up on anything, no matter how contrite."

Callahan said extra safety measures implemented last week, including a greater number of Waltham police units and an additional campus BranVan, would continue indefinitely.

"We're making a very visible presence on campus and obviously trying to restore the sense of security that people have here," he said.

Meanwhile, Benham has been commuting to classes from her home in Worcester since the attack. She attended classes the first Monday after the incident.

"I feel it's better for my emotional recovery just to be in a family supportive environment," she said.

Benham said students should be cognizant of dangers that exit outside the Brandeis "academic and social bubble."

"I think regardless of whether this was a Brandeis student or not, people need to remember that there are some screwed up people out there," she said. "There are no chain link fences around Brandeis-they can walk in, and they can walk out."

News of the assault was reported by media outlets throughout the Boston area, including the Boston Globe, the Waltham Daily News Tribune and regional television affiliates for the FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS networks.

Ariel Bohn '07 said she was not surprised at the amount of coverage given to the story.

"I think people think of [colleges] as ultra-safe places, and Brandeis in particular," she said.

Bohn said the incident was "definitely scary to think about," and said she tried to remember to keep her suite locked this week.

"This campus in general I think feels pretty safe to people," she said. "Having something like this happen kind of breaks down all those thoughts you had about leaving your bag places."

Callahan said although there were no reported complaints about media intrusion, he had heard of students who felt disrupted by the vas and cameras around campus.

Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said she found the barrage of media coverage intrusive.

"Sometimes the media isn't very sensitive to the fact that [the campus] is peoples' home and not everybody wanted. to have a microphone in their face and be interviewed," she said. "Some people didn't really want to be part of that."

Bennett said while Student Life hopes to organize an event next semester for students to talk about their concerns, she feels campus safety is not the responsibility of one office alone.

"It's not just up to Public Safety and its not just up to Student Life," she said. "It's got to be a partnership or collaboration between students and the administration if we're really going to keep the campus safe.