Imagine you’re a parent and you’re sending your 18 year old child off to college, to live in the dorms, eat nasty food, and shower with flip flops on. But you’ve forgot an important aspect that comes along with college, sexual assault. Sexual assault can happen between two individuals in a relationship, “date rape”, and there can be male victims. In my opinion numerous people misapprehend these types of sexual assaults on a campus, and typically stereotype sexual assault on a campus as a drunk girl walking back from a party alone into the arms of a sleazy asshole. That can be the case, but there other scenarios that parents and college kids need to be aware of when they make the choice to live on campus, or even attend college.

College campuses are a breeding ground for sexual assault. As a freshman entering a new school, with new faces, and a new setting, potentially new relationships could stem from this. One of these freshman could enter into a relationship with someone they assumed was great; but by the time this naive individual figured it out, it could be too late. Students often fall victim to dating violence because they lack maturity and miss the “red flags.” Approximately 90% of victims of sexual assault on college campuses know their attacker. 21% of college students report having experienced dating violence by a current partner. 32% of college students experienced dating violence by a pervious partner. Those statistics can summarize how validate the majority of people on a college campus who have experienced sexual assault in a relationship. livepage.apple.com You may think it won’t happen to you or one of your friends, but it happened to one of mine. My friend felt the urgency to dial 911 after her boyfriend of 6 months had punched her, and now her boyfriend is no longer allowed into our dorm. You should be aware of what really is going on behind the scenes of those “perfect” relationships and people can implode.

We’ve all heard about the dominant frat on campus slipping ruffies in the punch to young college girls right? Well that can actually happen. I attend Salem State University and I’ve heard multiple rumors that the infamous “yellow” hockey house spikes girls drinks.... That’s only a college rumor, but sexual assault as a result of drugs can take place at colleges or universities.

The term “date rape” means rape committed by a person, who could be a friend, acquaintance or stranger, against a victim. Commonly, date rape is referring to drugs or alcohol to facilitate sexual acts that they haven’t consented to. Date rape typically happens to woman aged 15-24, ironic that those are ages of college students. People often take drinks from someone they just met--these “date rape” instances can happen more than you think.

Many people misconstrue the reality that males can experience sexual assault. We often hear stories of the 5 year old boy molested by his sly neighbor, but as these males grow older they’re often at risk for sexual assault on their very own college campuses. Even though they are stereotypically seen as the buff man, 1 in 6 males experience sexual assault. livepage.apple.com Think about the amount of males that live in your own dormitory, thats 1 out of every 6 of them that could potentially be raped, groped, forced into kissing, and tortured in a sexual manner. Lester J. Manzano’s male friend was 1 out of every 6 males to be assaulted. Manzano described the rape of his friend in an article on University of Vermont’s website. livepage.apple.com One of Manzano’s statements that stuck out in my mind is that “It’s not primarily a crime of sex—it’s a crime of violence, perpetrated against those who are seen to be vulnerable". Manzano makes a valid point, by his statements and testimony on behalf of his friend it is truly evident that males are assaulted on college campuses. The worst thing a person can do is be naive, therefore I challenge you all to not shy away from the fact that there can be male victims.

After shedding some light on these new scenarios of sexual assault, you yourself can take action. You probably don’t think you can do anything about sexual assault unless you’re directly involved, but your wrong. Even if you are miles away from your parents and home town, you can be taking measures to reduce the amount of attacks of campuses. RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is one of the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organizations, and provides an abundant amount of sources, tips, and possible solutions to aid victims. livepage.apple.com RAINN goes into extensive details about how sexual assault is prominent on college campuses and universities. Campus administrators are improving on their efforts in recent years, but there still is a lack of response to victims, inadequate sexual assault training of campus police, and underreporting of campus crimes. Even if you rally up some of your friends to spread awareness of your college campus about the lewd and lascivious behavior you can open up the eyes of many meek college students. So the next time your peers and fellow students think of sexual assault, they won’t think it’s a person in a relationship, drugged against their will or even a male. We as college students are attending universities to educate ourselves, so why don’t we educate ourselves on what is really going on at our own college campuses?