There are the usual tips that your parents might have given you: be wary of upperclassmen who prey on freshmen, don’t go anywhere alone at night, don’t sit your drink down or take drinks from people you don’t know.

They may seem like just things your parents say, but unfortunately, bad things happen. Granted, you probably won’t follow all of these rules 100% of the time, but they could make a difference.

Rape culture is prominent on college campuses. According to a 2019 survey, the rate of nonconsensual sexual contact increased from 2015 to 2019 by 3 percent (to 26.4 percent) for undergraduate women, and 1.4 percent for undergraduate men (to 6.9 percent). And according to the Department of Justice, about 80% of sexual violence cases go unreported.

The blame for sexual assault should never be on survivors, but college campuses have a long way to go in addressing that. And until then, you should do everything you can to protect yourself.

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