The attack was caught on video and shows a group of teens beating a man outside the SEPTA station at Broad Street and Cecil B Moore Avenue around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
But one student who stepped in says she and a friend shouldn't have been the only ones taking action.
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"A traffic cone was being thrown. They were circling him, hitting him, tugging at him," said Veronica Rin.
Rin and a friend were walking back to her apartment at that time. They can be seen on video trying to help.
"He was cornered, fell to the ground and they began to circle him and beat him," said Rin.
Rin says her frustration lies with private campus security guards seen wearing bright yellow parkas standing by.
"No one stepped in except us, that's a problem. They didn't do enough," said Rin.
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"If they see anything that's troublesome, they'll call it into the dispatch center," said Dr. Jennifer Griffin, the vice president of Temple Public Safety.
She says the guards did what they are trained to do -- call for Temple University Police.
"They're not trained and that's not the role for them. But yes it doesn't look good. We really appreciate the students who stepped in as well," said Griffin.
Temple University Police Association, the officers' union, says a decline in its force means less safety.
"Right now we're a completely reactionary force, there is no proactive policing going on down at Temple, so we're asking for them to prioritize retaining cops," says Alec Shaffer, president of the Temple University Police Association.
Dr. Griffin says eight recruits will graduate from the academy in March, with more hires to the force coming soon.