University Police Services and many students have changed their security tactics following a weekend assault in a South Halls dorm room.

At the request of Office of Residence Life officials, University police will now perform afternoon and evening foot patrols on all South Halls floors. The change came after resident assistants called emergency meetings last weekend to discuss the assault with South Halls students.

"The residents are saying, 'We're afraid,' " police supervisor Delmar Woodring said.

The additional safety measure follows an incident in which a Ewing Hall resident was assaulted between late Friday night and early Saturday morning when an unknown man entered her unlocked room on the fourth floor.

The man threw the victim around and cut her slightly with a knife or similar sharp object, police said.

The assault prompted the Office of Residence Life to temporarily extend card-access system hours in South Halls to between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. -- a move that students have praised.

"I think it's a good idea," said Sarah Carberry (freshman-division of undergraduate studies), who lives in Hibbs Hall, another dorm in South Halls.

"It's a little bit of a pain now, but people will need to get used to it if they want to be safer," she said.

Carberry said the meetings between RAs and students to discuss the assault were productive.

"People were asking a lot of questions and responding well," she said, adding that news of the assault caused her to lock her door more often.

"I bring my keys with me to the bathroom now," she said. "It's kind of eerie walking down the hall because you don't feel safe."

Jenny Wetherill (senior-music) said she believes card-access hours should be extended for all dorms because any dorm could be affected.

Wetherill, who lives in an apartment off campus, said she always locks her door when she is alone ever since the time that she and her roommates woke up one morning and found a stranger sleeping on their couch. She added that too many University students do not accurately assess the dangers the campus contains.

"The assault reinforced that you need to be careful," she said.

After hearing about the weekend assault, East Halls resident Erin O'Reilly (sophomore-business) said she has better prepared herself for the possibility that she could be a victim.

"Since this happened, people should be more careful who they let in their rooms," she said.

But Tina Long (junior-human development and family studies) said many students probably will not change their safety habits.

"I think even after this, people won't take it seriously," she said. "It does happen too much, but not necessarily that you would take a lot of precautions."

Woodring said police hope to maintain a high profile through the end of the semester.

The Ewing attack is at least the third aggravated assault to occur on campus this year. In 1993, University police responded to six on-campus aggravated assaults, four of which resulted in arrests.

Woodring said it is difficult to predict whether 1994 will show an increase in the number of aggravated assaults on campus.

"This year we may have 20 aggravated assaults. Next year you may have one," Woodring said.

"But it could also indicate that something different is happening this year," he said. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens."