Sexual assault happens on most college campuses. Date rape is an all-too-common occurrence in college, especially among first-year female students.

If a person forces you to have sex, even if you know that person, you are the victim of rape. No is a complete sentence. If you can’t say no or yes because you’ve passed out, it’s not an automatic yes. No one should be having sex with you when you’re unconscious. When you say no, you don’t have to offer a reason for not wanting to have sex. You do not owe sex to anyone for any reason.

Here are some things you should know about sexual assault, as well as some ways to protect yourself from it:

• Staying sober is your best defense against sexual assault.
• Trust your intuition: if you feel uncomfortable in a situation, there’s probably a good reason for it.
• Use the buddy system at parties. Stay with your friends and keep an eye on each other.
• Don’t allow yourself to become isolated at a party with someone you don’t know very well or someone you don’t have reason to trust.
• If a party becomes sexually charged, get out immediately.
• If you do drink, watch your drink at all times and don’t accept drinks from strangers or people you don’t know well. It’s easy to slip a “date rape” drug into any type of beverage.
• Being drunk doesn’t excuse someone’s sexual aggression.
• Date rape is a reportable crime. Take responsibility for yourself and report any wrongdoing: you could be saving another woman from the same fate.
• If he just met you, he doesn’t love you. He doesn’t know you! Use your common sense and keep yourself from being fooled into a situation you can’t handle.
• Yes, sexual assault can happen to you. Statistics show that it will probably happen to someone you know.