College is definitely a great experience. You might meet your best friends for life, learn the most valuable lessons, on top of getting an education that we are definitely privileged to be exposed to. But it can be dangerous as well. If you have signed up for PSUAlert, which I recommend that you do if you have not yet, you’ll get text messages almost on a weekly basis about sexual assaults that were reported on campus.

You can go online and read about incidents reported to Penn State Police and you will see that bad things happen to people on a regular basis and if you’re not careful or if you are unlucky, it might happen to you too. So I want to encourage everyone to take a minute to go over some tips on how to stay safe.

 According to University Police, here are some things to remember:

• Get verbal consent from your partner
• Don’t assume you know what the other person wants
• Don’t feel obligated to do anything you don’t want to. “I don’t want to” is always a good enough reason.
• Listen to your partner. If you’re receiving unclear messages, stop.
• Sexual assault is a second degree felony in the state of PA. Sentencing can include up to 10 years in prison, fines and psychiatric treatment.
• Trust your instincts. If you feel unsafe, get to a safe place and call for help.
• Walk with confidence and stay alert. Don’t text and walk.
• Stay with a group and avoid deserted areas

Also, if anything ever happens to you, remember that it is not your fault. It is common for victims to feel guilt or shame but hiding what happened and feeling bad about yourself will do you no good. Report incidents as soon as they happen and seek help so that you can recover as soon as possible. According to the Washington Post, “Penn State University tallied the nation’s highest number of reports of forcible sex offenses on campus in 2012 — 56— a total that university officials attribute in part to the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.” This shows not necessarily that there were more sexual assaults happening, but rather that more people were stepping forward to report being victimized in incidents, which is a good trend and one that hopefully keeps up.

Things happen to people for no reason. I sincerely hope you all stay safe and sound at Penn State and can leave with only positive memories when you graduate. But if something unfortunate ever does happen to you, remember there are people to help you. There are professionals who are trained to help you at CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services), or University Health Services if you have any medical/health concerns. Remember that you are not alone and people care about you!