Rape more likely to occur at beginning of academic year
The first weeks for new students on campus can be a wild time. With activities and parties running into the early hours of the morning, some students try to stay safe by pairing up with a buddy or sticking to well-lit areas. But for students looking to protect themselves from sexual assault, those measures won't help them avoid the 80 percent of rapes where the attacker is an acquaintance, said Jayne Schuiteman, personal safety coordinator for the MSU Women's Resource Center. Schuiteman said that at the start of a school year, when friendships haven't been solidified and people and places are unfamiliar, students are significantly more likely to be sexually assaulted. "A lot of new students are looking to find their niche socially, so they're willing to take a lot of chances because they want to meet people," she said. Schuiteman added that students might hang out with someone they've just met, thinking they're safe, and wind up in a dangerous situation. A recent MSU graduate named Michelle, who asked that her last name not be used, said she was raped at a party the first week of September during her freshman year. She said a popular upperclassman on her floor bought alcohol for his floor mates, then a group of them went to a party. The upperclassman brought a drunk Michelle home, and when she couldn't climb into her loft, brought her to his room. She woke to him raping her. Michelle filed a report several months later but didn't press charges because she said authorities told her there wasn't enough evidence. "I didn't report it earlier because I talked with my friends, but they didn't believe me.