A DU fraternity is organizing a protective escort program for female undergraduate students in response to repeated unwanted sexual advances toward single women that started last fall and occurred again last Wednesday.

Eight of the 21 Theta Chi fraternity members offered to take shifts and be on-call 24 hours a day to walk with female students within a one-mile radius around campus. The program will officially begin tomorrow, according to sophomore Chris Guthrie, social chairman of Theta Chi.

“We want women to be able to call someone if they don’t feel safe,” said Guthrie.

Last week’s incident occurred near Sorority Row.

According to Department of Campus Safety (DCS) Sgt. Stephen Banet, a female was walking down an alley at around 1:45 a.m. last Wednesday near the 2200 block between South University Boulevard and South Josephine Street, when a man approached her and and offered her a cigarette. The victim said she refused the cigarette and then the suspect attempted to forcibly kiss her.

Denver police reported the suspect then pushed the female to the ground and attempted to remove her pants and shirt. The woman was able to fight the suspect off before she sustained any injuries, and he fled on foot northbound down the alley.

The Denver Police Department (DPD) and DCS said they are unable to release whether the female was a student or not.

The suspect is described as a white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, mid-to-late 20s and “homeless-looking.” He was wearing a green jacket, shorts and athletic shoes at the time of the incident.

“We’re concerned about students coming home in the wee hours of the morning,” said Banet.

Banet also said DPD and DCS do not think this suspect is the same man as the man who allegedly forcibly fondled four DU students since late August, three instances which occurred during fall quarter.

“This strikes me as a different type of crime,” said Banet, adding the fondling suspect wore a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up. “Certainly a person can have another coat, but I don’t feel this is the same person.”

The forced fondlings and the attempted sexual assault occurred when a woman was walking alone either late in the evening or at night. Guthrie said these attacks are exactly why he and his fraternity brothers want to help.

“I talked to a friend and she was scared about walking alone,” said Guthrie. “It’s really important because it’s not just the women who get the email about the molesting – every single one of those occurred because someone had been walking by themselves.”

Guthrie said he will provide any female students who are interested in the service with a schedule and list of names and numbers of Theta Chi members who are available to walk female students to their destinations.

“If a girl is already downtown, for example, and she called from the light rail we’d meet her at the station and escort her around campus,” he said. “By doing that we hope to make it a much safer system on campus.”

Guthrie also said female students who make plans with them ahead of time would help streamline the process.

“A heads-up would be awesome to make sure someone will there at the moment you need it,” said Guthrie. “But we will be willing to do spur-of-the-moment calls too.”

According to Guthrie, the fraternity has already sent an email about the service to four sororities, Delta Zeta, Alphi Phi, Delta Delta Delta and Gamma Phi Beta.

“They all sent a return email thanking us and telling us how appreciative they are,” Guthre said.

Guthrie also said he hopes the service will provide, “strength in numbers.”

According to DCS and the DPD’s Sexual Assault Prevention Tips, women are less likely to be attacked if they walk in a group or with a male.

“I’m a big believer in safety in numbers,” said Banet. “If you’re at a bar or a party – if you’re studying late – try to walk with someone else.”

Banet also said the companion service is a good idea. However, he said, Theta Chi needs to discuss risk-management with DCS.

“Something like that needs to be explored…to make sure bases are covered should there be an incident,” said Banet.

Guthrie said he contacted DCS to discuss safety and risk-management regarding the service last weekend and has not heard back from them yet.

According to Guthrie, female students should be able to call  to ask someone to walk them home without feeling guilty.

“We want to make it very open,” he said. “We don’t want them to feel awkward.”

Guthrie said he hopes other male students will volunteer for the program.

“I feel like something like this should be an open-campus program where any guy may work with us,” said Guthrie.

Students who are interested in taking advantage of the service can contact Guthrie at chris.guthrie@du.edu.