Shortly after midnight yesterday morning six people--one holding a pipe--attacked a Harvard Law School (HLS) student outside Langdell Hall.

The most recent in a string of assaults on and around campus, the incident has prompted the University--and the HLS student council--to re-examine policing methods and campus security.

The group approached the student and tried to wrest a book from him, according to Peggy A. McNamara, spokesperson for the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD).

"In his effort to protect his property a struggle started," she said. "They started to assault him."

When HUPD arrived on the scene shortly after a phone call notifying them of the situation, the six assailants had fled. Their descriptions are currently unknown, McNamara said.

The student received scratches on the left side of his face but refused medical treatment, McNamara said.

She said she assumes the assailants might have punched the student and knocked him to the ground.

The administration has responded quickly.

For the remainder of the semester additional security guards will patrol the HLS campus at night, HLS Dean of Students Suzanne L. Richardson said. HLS hires its security guards separately from HUPD.

McNamara said that HUPD will also increase community policing in the area in the next few days.

Richardson's office sent an e-mail message yesterday to all HLS students about the assault, in which the administration detailed the night-time escort options and gave safety tips.

Two weeks ago HLS instituted a new policy enabling students to take taxis from the campus to their homes at night and bill the school, according to Richardson. Students must submit vouchers to the school to be reimbursed.

At the same time, HLS expanded van service to outlying residential areas, Richardson said. The operating hours, from 7 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., remain the same.

The HLS van service should be the main option for students, but if that is overbooked, they should call Cambridge Radio Dispatch and order a taxi, according to the e-mail message.

These heightened security measures were spurred by the March 9 rape of a Harvard-affiliated woman in Byerly Hall, Richardson said. "We're concerned for our student safety," she added.