Greece's universities in the grip of violence

A sharp spike in incidents of violence, and criminal activities, on the grounds of universities across the country has fueled concern among academics who say they are powerless to intervene.

Police are investigating several such cases. In the early hours of  Saturday a group of around 15 people, all wearing crash helmets and wielding wooden sticks, attacked students attending a function at the theater studies campus of Athens University on Academias Street in central Athens. The assailants beat up several students, four of whom were transferred to Evangelismos Hospital, and wreaked serious damage to the building. Before fleeing, the assailants stole a box of money that the students had collected at the event.

That incident came just two days after a group of unidentified vandals used iron bars and wooden sticks to wreak serious damage at the University of Macedonia (UOM...