Student assaulted in Vance

A Wharton graduate student was assaulted in Vance Hall by an unknown man. A female Wharton graduate student was assaulted early Tuesday morning in the lobby of Vance Hall, police said. During the incident, the 33-year-old student said she received a sprained right arm and bruises on her right arm and left hip. She did not require hospital treatment. The student said that as she entered Vance Hall at 3733 Spruce Street at about 5:25 a.m., she noticed a man near the entrance who was mumbling incoherently. She was working on a computer located near the vacant security guard station when the man, who appeared to be very angry, entered the building and began walking toward her, she said. In an effort to deter the man, who the student said she believed might have been on drugs, she warned him that the security guard would return shortly and that a PennCard was necessary to be in the building. The man continued to approach the woman and attempted to grab both of her arms. She managed to move her left arm out of the way but he grabbed her right arm. The student, who is trained in martial arts, managed to free herself from his grasp and push him away. "He cut me with his fingernails from grabbing so hard. He was pulling me towards him," the student said, adding that she believes the man was aiming to commit an act of violence. After the student broke free from his grasp, the man exited the building, hitting the doors as he left. "I don't think he was running. I don't think he had any fear that anyone was going to come after him," the student said. The student then called the police, who arrived almost 10 minutes after her 911 call, she said. According to the University Police incident report, the man, who seemed irritated, did not appear to be homeless. The suspect is described as a short-haired black man in his 20s, about 5'11" tall, with a medium build, weighing about 180 lbs. University Police Chief Maureen Rush said that police are investigating the incident as a simple assault and are still unsure whether the suspect is a student. She added that all officers on patrol are looking for the man. Police said the suspect entered the Wharton School building through unsecured lobby doors. According to Wharton officials, the building is normally open only from 6:30 a.m. to midnight every day. Wharton Vice Dean Bruce Allen released a statement last night saying the University has fired the security staff responsible for unlocking the door earlier than usual on the day of the incident. The incident is the second assault of a student inside a Wharton building this year. In November, a female University student was assaulted in a bathroom of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall by a 16-year-old male with a knife. He is currently in Philadelphia Police custody. The official police incident report of the assault in Vance contradicted a brief police description of the assault that is used daily for The Daily Pennsylvanian's campus crime reports. The initial description said that the victim was unaffiliated with the University and it did not say whether the incident occurred inside or outside the building.