A male suspect allegedly tried to sexually assault a woman on 19th Avenue near the Station Café on Saturday, Feb. 20, according to the Department of Public Safety.

The woman, who was not an SF State student, was walking southbound by herself on 19th Avenue at 8:24 p.m. when a man allegedly pulled up her dress and attempted to sexually assault her, University police said. The Station Café was not open at the time.

The victim, whose age was not made available, managed to run away from the assailant and call University police from her cell phone. University police responded to the incident, along with the San Francisco Police Department, which is currently handling the case.

Police initially detained two possible suspects, who were later released after they were determined to be unrelated to the incident.

According to University police reports, the suspect is a 20- to 22-year-old white male, 5 feet 5 inches tall, with light-brown hair and a thin build, who was wearing a black hooded jacket and black pants at the time of the assault. He was last seen traveling by foot southbound on 19th Avenue. According to University police, it is unknown whether SFPD have any leads at this time.

SF State student Jasmin Contos, 18, said she walks about 15 minutes to the front of campus at 19th Avenue to her car after her Monday night class, when the area is generally deserted.

"I get out around 10 p.m., so I'm walking really late at night by myself," she said. "And those are some of the nights where I become a little bit more aware of my surroundings and a little more paranoid about the possibilities of what could go wrong when I'm walking by myself."

Contos said she carries pepper spray in case of an emergency, but otherwise tries not to worry too much about her safety during her nighttime walks across campus. "I feel like if you let yourself be too afraid, then you're kind of making yourself a victim already, even if nothing has happened," she said.

Seven days a week, the University offers a safety escort program --Campus Alliance for a Risk-Free Environment, or C.A.R.E., which provides students with accompaniment to their cars and nearby apartments from sunset until midnight. Students can arrange a C.A.R.E. escort by calling University police at (415) 338-7200. In incidents of sexual assault, students can also call University police or 911.