There’s a new trend rising on the CMU campus, and it’s something that all students should be aware of. Sexual assaults have gone up quite a bit this semester and it’s raising concern with many police officers around town. The one common link between all the assaults is alcohol, which means we, as students, could prevent the assaults by being careful.
Obviously, alcohol and college students mix very easily. It gives the students a reason to bond with each other every weekend. But just as booze brings us together, it can also damage our health and life.
Don’t go to a party alone or drink by yourself. If you go with a group of friends or associate yourself with a few people, it is less likely that a sexual predator will target you. The gameplan for people who commit assaults is to target the weaker ones. If the suspect thinks he can get away with it without too much struggle or trouble, he will go for the attack. It also helps to travel in groups because if you become too drunk to think or speak for yourself, you have your friends there to help out. The worst decision that can be made is a drunk mind saying “yes” to sex without someone else being there.
Too often, young party-goers don’t leave when there is the threat of trouble. Whether it’s because they don’t want to make their friends leave a fun party or they can’t find a ride, they stay too long. If you know there is a serious problem, you need to leave. Most trouble occurs when you hang around too long. Protect yourself by staying out of harm’s way.
There are ways on campus to get help, such as the campus police and getting an RA from the dorms. But we also need to help each other out. We are our own first line of defense. Your friends or classmates are the ones that are around you when there is trouble. If we can just help each other out, then we will all be that much safer.