| October 30, 2019 | Delaney Drumright | reporter |
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For women at any college, the fear of sexual assault and harassment is real. Fortunately, TCC offers a variety of resources to help women combat this concern, but awareness is also important.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 23.1% of female undergraduate students experience either sexual assault or rape, and women within the ages of 18-24 are three times more likely to be subject to this.
TCC’s website offers tips to get help and protect students.
The sexual misconduct protocol includes strategies for responding to acts of misconduct, as well as training and education programs to identify misconduct and learn how to report it and gives the information for Title IX coordinators on each campus.
It even offers an app that allows access to all TCC Title IX resources and reporting details.
Being on a college campus should not be a scary place, according to SE student Makenzee Aston.
“I feel OK walking to class, never second guess my surroundings,” Aston said. “I feel like walking to class is safer than walking to my car. Walking to my car, I always checked my back and surroundings 24/7 even while getting into my car.”
Feeling unsafe while doing day-to-day activities, such as going to class and walking to a car, can be unsettling. But there are other ways to harass without talking or touching a person. RAINN reported 4.2% of students have experienced stalking from a peer since entering college.
SE student Allie Lopez said she uses the college resources to try and stay aware of her surroundings.
“I got alerts on my phone for incidents happening on campus, so I guess just seeing the need where it is and actually doing something to enforce security and take all threats seriously,” Lopez said.
“You never know what guys are thinking when you walk by,” said SE student Landon Rhude. “It’s just different people, and it can be really up in the air. I would never do anything but say hello to a woman because I just am interested in getting in and getting out. But I see some guys really chasing women in the halls to spark conversations. It’s a perspective thing.”
