First-Year Assaulted Near 29 Garden Street

A Harvard undergraduate was assaulted by four juveniles Monday night as he walked through the Cambridge Common to his Garden Street dorm.

The student, who requested anonymity for reasons of personal security, was approached by a group of teenagers at about 10 p.m. The youths asked him for money and then attacked him, according to the victim and police reports.

The student sustained no serious injuries.

The perpetrators, all minors, were arrested within hours and were arraigned yesterday, according to the victim.

In an interview yesterday, the student said that when he refused to give money to the juveniles, one of them punched him in the face, knocking his glasses to the ground. When he bent down to retrieve them, the assailants kicked him repeatedly.

Two witnesses in addition to the student filed reports of the assault with the Cambridge Police Department.

Although the attack caused the student no lasting physical harm, it distressedhim, he said yesterday. "I guess I'm just moreshaken up than anything," he said.

According to Frank T. Pasquarello, theCambridge Police Department's public informationofficer, any neighborhood poses dangers to peopleunfamiliar with it.

"Anytime you get a class of kids that aren'tfamiliar with the area, they are vulnerable tolarcenies and assaults," Pasquarello said. "No oneis exempt, male or female."

The Cambridge Common is part of Cambridge'sNeighborhood 9, a region which includes Peabodyand Highlands. According to official PoliceDepartment statistics, 12 street robberiesoccurred in the area between January and July ofthis year, a 9 percent increase over the same timeperiod last year.

"There have been some larcenies and someassaults...[but] it is no different from HarvardSquare," Pasquarello said. He said that a newsystem of lighting was installed in the Commonlast year in an attempt to improve security

According to Frank T. Pasquarello, theCambridge Police Department's public informationofficer, any neighborhood poses dangers to peopleunfamiliar with it.

"Anytime you get a class of kids that aren'tfamiliar with the area, they are vulnerable tolarcenies and assaults," Pasquarello said. "No oneis exempt, male or female."

The Cambridge Common is part of Cambridge'sNeighborhood 9, a region which includes Peabodyand Highlands. According to official PoliceDepartment statistics, 12 street robberiesoccurred in the area between January and July ofthis year, a 9 percent increase over the same timeperiod last year.

"There have been some larcenies and someassaults...[but] it is no different from HarvardSquare," Pasquarello said. He said that a newsystem of lighting was installed in the Commonlast year in an attempt to improve security