Warm weather and a new school year have drawn larger crowds to bars near St. Thomas, but safety concerns have emerged after Public Safety reported two assaults affecting students.

On Sept. 13 around 1:30 p.m. a Public Safety officer witnessed three unidentified suspects allegedly throw a man to the ground. The suspects fled north on Cleveland Avenue, east on Portland, and lost the officer as they crossed Moore Street.

Officers said another St. Thomas student was also allegedly assaulted and injured that same night by the same suspects while he was exiting the Tiffany Sports Lounge shuttle bus near the arches. Three St. Thomas students pursued the suspects to the alley, where they were also reportedly assaulted.

Wellness Center Health Educator Birdie Cunningham said enjoying the bars is OK with the university, but students’ safety is always the first concern.

“Go out as a group … come home as a group,” Cunningham said.

“I think the key to staying safe at the bar is having a good safety net of friends who are going to look out for you,” Senior Shane McWhirter said. “Especially for girls; you don’t want to be getting rides from random people or taking every drink that’s thrown your way.”

Blake Montpetit, Tiffany’s co-owner, said guest safety is one of his biggest concerns.

“It’s something we take extremely serious in our quest to provide our guest with a fun, safe environment,” Montpetit said.

According to Minneapolis Police Department’s monthly neighborhood crime statistics, students also encounter a higher risk of danger if they venture to downtown Minneapolis nightclubs and bars. The report tallied 219 criminal incidents downtown in July. In comparison, the St. Thomas surrounding neighborhood reported 133 incidences.

Senior Kayla Gardner said she always adheres to the “buddy system,” but also recognized that sometimes it’s not always effective if one partner consumes too much alcohol.

“Buddies usually split if one of them is too drunk,” Gardner said.

Gardner said she is aware that bar fights do happen, yet she has never felt threatened at bars in the immediate area.

McWhirter said he too has never personally felt in danger at a bar, but said he can see how people might find themselves in dangerous circumstances, especially if they’re intoxicated.

“In a perfect world, we could trust everyone to make good decisions, but that’s not always the case,” McWhirter said.

Cunningham stressed the importance of driving under the legal drinking limit, pointing students to free tools on the Wellness Center’s website like the blood alcohol content calculator, which factors in height, weight and gender to show your approximate blood alcohol concentration.

Aware of the dangers presented by drunk driving, McWhirter said keeping yourself safe can be dependent on the quality of your friends.

“If you have a good group of friends, they’re not going to let you put yourself in positions or situations that are potentially dangerous,” he said.

Joey Anderson can be reached at ande9008@stthomas.edu.