Assault At MIT Extends Shock After Murder

Only days after the murder of an MIT junior, another MIT undergraduate was assaulted near campus Sunday night.

Police arrested Roxbury resident Ronald McMillan for punching a first-year woman to the ground and hitting her in the face with a radio at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, according to MIT spokesperson Kenneth D. Campbell. The woman had been walking with a friend along Mass Ave. toward Central Square.

McMillan, 30, allegedly took the woman's wallet and began to walk away from the scene. MIT police officer Paul Baratta, who was cruising Mass Ave. at the time, said he saw the assault out of the corner of his eye.

Baratta stopped at a traffic light, stepped out of his car and arrested McMillan. McMillan has been charged with assault and battery and attempted robbery.

The woman, whose name was not released, was taken to MIT Medical Center and treated for contusions and abrasions to the mouth.

The MIT community is still reeling in the aftershocks of last Friday's murder, when an East Cambridge teenager stabbed junior Yngve Raustein.

Raustein, a 21-year-old from Norway, had been walking along Memorial Drive with a friend when three teenagers--two of them Cambridge Ridge and Latin students--approached them. After an argument, one of the students punched Raustein in the face and another stabbed him repeatedly in the heart, police said. The teenagers stole $33 from the two MIT students, according to police reports.

Two of the teenagers, Joseph D. Donovan and Alfredo Velez, were arraigned Monday in Raustein's murder, and charged with one count of murder and two counts of armed robbery. The third, Shon McHugh, was arrested as a delinquent juvenile in connection with the killing.

MIT President Charles M. Vest sent a letter to the Institute's community Monday, calling the crime "a random, totally senseless murder." Vest urged students and staff to discuss the murder and to seek counseling if necessary.

Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Mary Lou McGrath issued a statement yesterday condemningthe "despicable crime" and reaffirming her schoolsystem's commitment to reducing violence.

Cambridge schools, McGrath wrote, haveintroduced more than 20 violence preventionactivities and projects, at both the elementaryand high school levels, in the past three years.

MIT police have stepped up patrols, and stateand city police have agreed to increase theirpresence around the school's campus, Campbellsaid.

In addition, MIT officials are holding crimeprevention seminars in a number of campusresidences in response to student appeals,Campbell said.

"We've had a barrage of requests," he said.

Campbell said the status and quality of campuslighting "is being examined and the police chiefis continuing to accept suggestions from studentsand administrators."

At Harvard, the office of Dean of the CollegeL. Fred Jewett '57 distributed a safety advisoryflyer to dining halls, urging students to walk ingroups, follow well-lit paths, lock their doors,use the Escort Service and purchase shrill alarms.

The College issued a similar statement a yearand a half ago when Bunting Fellow Mary Joe Frugwas fatally stabbed near campus.

MIT has planned a candlelight vigil on Thursdaynight at 7 p.m. on the Kresge Oval, a grassy areaacross from the school's main entrance.

Boston's Norwegian community will hold its ownvigil Thursday night at MIT's Baker House,according to Boston University professor Myles D.Striar, who is helping to organize the event.

Striar said Norwegian Consul Terje Korsnes isplanning the event. Following the vigil, theNorwegians will hold a discussion, in Norwegian,on MIT's campus.

Cambridge Rindge and Latin students are alsoplanning to hold a vigil on Thursday, when theywill walk from MIT to the Norwegian consulate inBoston, Campbell said

Cambridge schools, McGrath wrote, haveintroduced more than 20 violence preventionactivities and projects, at both the elementaryand high school levels, in the past three years.

MIT police have stepped up patrols, and stateand city police have agreed to increase theirpresence around the school's campus, Campbellsaid.

In addition, MIT officials are holding crimeprevention seminars in a number of campusresidences in response to student appeals,Campbell said.

"We've had a barrage of requests," he said.

Campbell said the status and quality of campuslighting "is being examined and the police chiefis continuing to accept suggestions from studentsand administrators."

At Harvard, the office of Dean of the CollegeL. Fred Jewett '57 distributed a safety advisoryflyer to dining halls, urging students to walk ingroups, follow well-lit paths, lock their doors,use the Escort Service and purchase shrill alarms.

The College issued a similar statement a yearand a half ago when Bunting Fellow Mary Joe Frugwas fatally stabbed near campus.

MIT has planned a candlelight vigil on Thursdaynight at 7 p.m. on the Kresge Oval, a grassy areaacross from the school's main entrance.

Boston's Norwegian community will hold its ownvigil Thursday night at MIT's Baker House,according to Boston University professor Myles D.Striar, who is helping to organize the event.

Striar said Norwegian Consul Terje Korsnes isplanning the event. Following the vigil, theNorwegians will hold a discussion, in Norwegian,on MIT's campus.

Cambridge Rindge and Latin students are alsoplanning to hold a vigil on Thursday, when theywill walk from MIT to the Norwegian consulate inBoston, Campbell said