Grad student beaten by two men

While most University students were going home for break, one graduate student was beaten by two assailants on 37th Street between Locust Walk and Walnut Street, according to University Police Sergeant Joseph Risoli. The student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had just left Steinberg-Dietrich Hall on March 4 at about 9 p.m., where he took out money from a MAC machine, and was walking toward Walnut Street. The student was then attacked by two men and received a concussion from the barrage of blows to his head. He said he was attacked in spite of the fact that he willingly gave his assailants $20, his jacket and the contents of his pockets. "It is pretty traumatic when you're lying down and someone is hitting you," he said. "You don't know if they are going to kill you." The student said everything started when he saw two men sitting on a bench as he walked by, with no one else in sight. After he walked past the men, the student said he was wary, but did not notice anything irregular until he was struck on the back of his head. "I felt something hit me on the back of my head and then the guy basically threw his weight on me and we fell in the snow by the steps of Annenberg," he said. "Then I was face-down and he put his knee in the small of my back and he wrenched my arms back." The student said he gave the assailants everything he had, and complied with their orders. "They asked me to take my jacket off and gave me a few more blows. Just before leaving, they struck me again," he said. "Then they walked away. They did not run. They walked away." He then went to the nearest blue-light phone and called University Police. "I took the phone off the hook and was able to give fairly precise descriptions about these guys, and then an officer came by and waited with me," he said. The student identified the two men and recovered his belongings from University Police, who he said found them when they arrested the men --Tyrone Hardy and Richard Allen. Although the police were unable to locate the student's wallet, it was found outside of Stiteler Hall the next day. The student was escorted by officers to the West Detective unit of Philadelphia Police at 55th and Pine streets. The men were then booked and their preliminary hearing was held last Thursday. The student said he intends to press criminal charges, adding that he is currently awaiting a court appearance. But, in the meantime, he said he constantly thinks about his safety when he walks around campus. "I am now worried every time I hear someone running behind me," he said.