NYU reports spate of attacks on Asian students in the last month

Three Asian students at New York University reported being attacked over the past month.

At least six students in total were assaulted in February, college newspaper the Washington Square News reported last month. Most of the victims said they were walking alone when they were struck from behind.

Three of the first four victims were Asian, NBC News confirmed.

Students were upset at a slow response from campus police. But in an email to the student body obtained by NBC News, the university’s vice president for Global Campus Safety pledged to increase campus patrols and improve lighting on campus.

“We are conscious of the unease that Asian members of the NYU community may be feeling right now,” said Fountain Walker, according to NBC. “We stand united in full support of them, and want them to know they have our support and that we are determined to make them feel secure on our campus.”

Anti-Asian hate crimes have soared during the pandemic, fueled in part by the origin of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China.

Anti-Asian hate crimes soared 339 percent last year compared to 2020.

In response, the U.S. Congress passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act last year to bolster reporting, education and other measures to combat the issue.