Last Saturday, five robberies occurred at knifepoint — two of which were at the perimeter of campus.

In an e-mail to residence staff, Ancillary Housing Services warned students to be careful.

At 12:15 a.m., a 21-year-old male was walking south on Richmond Street near Huron Street when he was approached by two males. One man brandished a knife and forced the victim into a driveway. The two suspects took something from the victim and fled, leaving the victim uninjured.

Later that night similar robberies occurred on Fanshawe Park Road East, Philbrook Drive, Proudfood Lane and again on Richmond Street.

According to Elgin Austen, director of campus police, officers on campus have been on higher alert and are doing additional patrols throughout the campus.

“[Yesterday] there was an armed robbery at the TD Bank,” added Austen. “I don’t know if it’s connected to the other robberies, but we’re having a lot of criminal activity along the perimeter of the university, which certainly warrants heightened security.”

Residence staff have also been advised to inform students about the robberies.

“We were advised about the break-ins and have since sent out a release to our [residence staff] warning them to be careful,” Susan Grindrod, housing and ancillary services co-ordinator, said.

She added doors on residences are locked, and staff will continue to monitor the doors in the evening.

“We work through our own police and they’ll certainly advise us if there’s anything we should know or anything we should do,” she added. “I’m sure they’ll keep us updated.”