Police Suggest Ways to Sexual Assault

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By Sally Mjoseth

Across college campuses nation wide, sexual assault is a real and unfortunate issue that students face. With two recent reports of sexual assault on Miami’s campus, Oxford police and University staff are taking efforts to educate students and increase awareness about the realities of assault.

According to the National Victim Center, approximately one in three women and one in seven men will be sexually assaulted at some point during their lives.

“It’s been reported on college campuses across the country that there’s about 70,000 sexual assaults every year, like I mentioned they're mostly related to the over-consumption of alcohol,” said Jim Squance, Public Information Officer of the Oxford Police Department.

Although campus safety is a top priority, some students are still concerned about what is being done within the community to prevent this issue.

“I’ve only seen one police officer and that was when he was giving my mom a parking ticket. but I’ve never seen any police at night patroling the streets over on this side of campus,” said Miami University student Maggie Mitten.

The Oxford Police are taking measures to ensure the safety of students living on and off campus, advising students to take extra precaution with security and avoid traveling alone.

“Be aware of your surroundings, if you’re going to go out and socialize, be sure you go out with a group and make sure someone in the group stays relatively sober, and come home in a group, don’t wander off by yourself if you’ve been drinking certainly don’t go home with somebody you don’t know, make sure you know your surroundings, make sure you know who youre with, and also make sure to guard your drink when you’re out at night,” said Squance.

Miami also offers safe alternatives for getting to and from destinations in Oxford, such as Nighttime Door-to-Door and the Miami Metro Bus System.

For more information, go to www.helpandhealing.org, or contact the Butler County Rape Crisis program at 513-523-4146.

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