Throughout my senior year in college, the University of Minnesota posted bulletins and flyers around campus as well as mailed students and faculty regarding violent and sexual crimes perpetrated against college students. Those crimes ranged from armed robberies to shootings to sexual assaults; some incidents even occurring in broad daylight. Therefore, personal safety around campus was a matter of much concern for me.

 It has been estimated that one in three women and one in six men will experience an unwanted sexual encounter in their lifetime. Hence, it is not surprising that sexual assaults are occurring all too frequently on college campuses. According to the Dating Violence Resource Center, sexual violence around college campuses looks like this:

When it comes to violence prevention, we have three main groups: the victims, the perpetrators, and then everyone else. If we are in the "everyone else" group, then we must take a stand against violence or we become part of the problem by acting as bystanders.

So, these are a few things, courtesy of Feminist Law Professors, that we as students can do to help protect ourselves and others:

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry; do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

4. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

5. Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

6. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!

7. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.

Remember: sexual assault is no laughing matter. It remains our responsibility to find ways to reduce our vulnerability to such offenses, report any incidents, and help survivors find their voice to speak up.