A week designed to combat violence has seen an outburst of violent acts on or near the ISU campus.

The YWCA’s national Week Without Violence began Sunday. An Ames-area resident reported being struck in the head and sexually assaulted near the Campustown area early Sunday morning. An ISU student reported to ISU Police she had been physically assaulted in stadium Lot S-4 Monday.

ISU Police said it is too early to speculate if the two incidents were related.

Judy Dolphin, executive director for the YWCA, said despite the assaults, several good things have come out of the Week Without Violence, including a trip to a local child care center to talk to children about resisting violence.

A conversation held Friday at noon in Room 244 of the Memorial Union will focus on the good things Iowa State has done to combat racism and hate crimes on campus.

“We want people to have an avenue for airing issues but also work to change the climate so those things don’t happen,” Dolphin said.

“We need to learn how to handle our anger. It’s a very valid emotion.”

ISU Police said they can’t keep campus safe alone.

“The whole concept of nonviolence is very, very ideal,” said ISU Police Lt. Isra Harahap. “It’s something to reach for, but police themselves can’t do it and individual groups can’t do it. We need to look at these things as a whole community. “

The two assaults reported near campus this week appear to be initiated by strangers who may have been caught if the police were notified of a suspicious person, Harahap said.

“So many times we hear about these people a few days after someone has seen them,” he said. “We need to hear about suspicious people so we can come down there right away.”

ISU Police are conducting extra patrols and trying to be more vigilant. Harahap said citizens can step up their reaction to these assaults as well.

“All crimes are solved with good work and good communication between the community and police,” he said. “We’re always willing to sit down and talk to residence halls, sororities, fraternities, faculty, staff, students and even visitors to football games about safety.”

Members of the ISU community can call the Department of Public Safety’s Safety Escort from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. if they feel unsafe walking on campus at night.

Many ISU organizations also specialize in self defense, such as the ISU Karate Club.

Harahap also said DPS periodically gives self-defense presentations.

“Keep thinking about your defense, like ‘What do I do if somebody comes up to me with a gun and asks for money,'” Harahap said.

“Unfortunately, in general people think it’s not going to happen to them. Most people [who are assaulted] freeze because they haven’t thought about what they’ll do.”

Although hard to imagine, Dolphin said the concept of a full seven days without violence is worth striving for.

“I do believe that one minute of a violence-free community sets an example for the next minute,” she said.

“That is what we’ve been trying to promote.”