We’ve all seen the headlines and heard the news stories, but the fact is, campus violence is on the rise and more and more individuals are becoming victims of the terrible acts that students subject their peers to. With the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, the nation was awakened to the reality that horrifying campus violence occurs, and preventing it is becoming exceedingly difficult.

With thousands of students on campus, security measures can be next to useless; how can campus law enforcement possibly search and screen every student on campus for deadly weapons?

They can’t, but it isn’t their fault.

It is inevitable that when thousands of different personalities and backgrounds are grouped together in the same area, bad things can happen.

People will disagree and argue. Students can be hurtful and unapologetic, so when does personal responsibility come into play?

It’s no surprise that sexual assaults are a serious concern with college students, particularly female freshman. As stated by studies analyzed in the American College Health Association’s Campus Violence White Paper, a disturbing number of females reported being sexually assaulted in 2005 – roughly 15 to 20 percent to be more specific – and those are only the ones who came forth and reported it.

Who knows how many sexual assaults go unreported over a year’s time?

“I have to consistently walk all my female friends back to their dorms just about every night because of concerns about campus rape,” said a male freshman. “I myself have seen male students at ETSU follow girls to their dorms while talking about them in a sexual way. It’s pretty creepy.”

Most disturbing, however, is the fact that many rapes that happen on campuses are not being dealt with as the violent crimes that they are.

Instead, they are misrepresented as unfortunate miscommunications between the two parties involved.

“Treating rape like an unfortunate but understandable miscommunication doesn’t just deny victims justice and downplay the traumatic nature of the experience – it allows rapists to remain free to rape again and again,” said journalist Jaclyn Friedman in The American Prospect.

Strangely enough, it also seems like society downplays the attackers’ ability to understand that the crime he committed is actually a crime; not many people want to own up and accept responsibly for such a crime.

Experts argue that if the victim was dressing provocatively and flirting an excessive amount, it could sent them the signals that they were “asking for it.” As a female student, nothing is more unsettling to me than that.

So, we must ask ourselves what we as students can do to aid in the prevention of campus violence.

Personally, I never walk around campus at night alone and I never let my female friends either. I always try to be alert when walking alone – even during the day – because you never know what or who could be lurking around a corner. I also always try to be friendly and open to other students. After the Virginia Tech shooting, many people expressed that the shooter was a solitary, quiet individual with little to no friends.

Maybe if we are more open to others then we can prevent a tragedy.

All these suggestions are food for thought that every student and faculty member should take in and consider.

Every life has value, and who knows how many we could save by simply walking with our friends across campus or by giving a friendly smile?

Author