Talk to your student: Nijmegen university urges students not to cycle alone

NIJMEGEN--Radboud University in Nijmegen is urging students not to cycle home alone during the orientation week after an incident earlier this week. A female student was nearly pulled from her bicycle into a car, Omroep Gelderland reported.

The incident happened on Tuesday near Goffertpark. The student was cycling by herself when someone grabbed her and tried to pull her into a car. She managed to get away.

The young woman was very shaken, the university’s orientation coordinator, Elke Moser Melis, told the broadcaster. “The faculty has been in extensive contact with her. She is also being supported in filing a police report, and the confidential counselor has been contacted.”

Students told the broadcaster that the news scared them. “I find it really difficult to hear, because it’s been in the news a lot lately. And during orientation week, everyone is new to the city. Many people are living away from home for the first time, and then this happens. This shouldn’t be happening.”

The students are trying to keep an eye out for each other by sharing live locations. Mentors have also asked students to let them know when they’ve arrived home safely. “But never cycling alone is difficult. There’s not really anything you can do to solve it,” a student said.

The Netherlands has been rocked by several violent crimes against women in recent weeks, including the murder of a 17-year-old girl from Abcoude as she cycled home from a night out with friends. A 22-year-old man is in custody for her murder, as well as the rape of a woman in Amsterdam and the attempted sexual assault of another woman. All three crimes happened within a week and a few kilometers of one another.