*Content warning: article contains mentions of sexual assault and rape

On Sept. 14, a female student was raped by a male Uber driver inside of the Commons residence hall. This incident is not isolated. On Aug. 24, 2022, a sophomore student was sexually assaulted in her dorm room in Sheehan Hall. Just a few months earlier, in May, a 40-year-old man broke into Good Counsel residence hall and was caught photographing female students.

Although these events appear to be infrequent, they serve as a reminder that such threats do occur, even on a seemingly safe campus like Villanova.

While it is recognized that men are victims of sexual assault, the issue as a whole is inherently gendered, and women are disproportionately impacted.

Given the concerns about sexual assault, there is a pressing need for the University to further educate male students about the consequences of sexual assault and how to actively prevent becoming a perpetrator.

“In my four years at Villanova, I was never formally taught about sexual assault other than a 15-minute video we had to watch freshmen year that everyone seemed to skip through,” a male alumnus from the Class of 2024 said. “Other than that, sexual assault was never really brought up in a serious way. It’s just not talked about.”

Especially as new incidents occur and the culture around sexual assault on campus changes, having University-wide training on sexual assault just once in four years is not only shocking but also extremely disappointing. The University needs to ensure that sexual assault prevention education is a topic that is continuously addressed.

Although the University, Title IX Office and Public Safety Department host events throughout the year, these sessions are optional, rather than mandatory. And while most people likely agree that sexual assault is an important issue, the reality is that, in the busy lives of college students, attending such events often falls low on their list of priorities.

Unlike the rest of the student body, student-athletes are required to participate in annual education, intervention and prevention training. The University should consider implementing this policy to all students on campus, whether it be through their academic school, a club or both.

In addition to increased training, the training should also be adjusted to be more engaging and personal, as opposed to online modules. For many students, especially male students, sexual assault is a subject that is only talked about in theory. Oftentimes male students do not know of anyone who has experienced it, and therefore do not see the repercussions in real life. To help humanize the subject and show male students the severity of sexual assault, the University should take a more personal approach to its training. This could include having survivors share their stories, hosting peer-led panels or requiring students to partake in small group discussions on the subject.

One student who requested anonymity described the discussions that occur at his fraternities chapter meetings.

“After joining our fraternity all new members go through a required online sexual assault prevention training provided from nationals, along with an in person training from Villanova officials,” he said. “A lot of kids don’t take this very seriously, though. My fraternity honestly does a great job of addressing issues at chapter every week, even if it is something like a rumor about an incident at a party that someone heard through grapevine. Our exec team does a great job of investigating the issues, talking it out at chapter and addressing, or even removing, anyone necessary.”

In addition to educating men on how not to be perpetrators and how they can support their peers, sexual assault discussion would also allow male survivors, an underrepresented population, to come forward and seek help.

To supplement the training, the University should also work to increase physical safety features across campus.

“There’s an illusion of being safe until something actually happens,” a senior who requested anonymity said.

She continued by sharing an experience that occurred during her freshman year at Villanova that has made her more alert when walking alone at night.

“At around 10 p.m. I was walking back from the library with my roommate,” she said. “We were walking down the Wildcat Path and all of the sudden a girl came up to us and said, ‘Run, somebody is following me.’ I saw a man running at us and so we ran and eventually made it to the intersection between South Campus and the Wildcat Path, where we saw a Public Safety car with an officer”

While Public Safety reported the incident, the man was never found.

“Though I know Public Safety did their utmost to help us in this situation, it felt extremely scary to know that that person was still out there,” she said.

When students were asked where they felt the most unsafe on campus, the Wildcat Path was the most common response. To combat this issue, it is recommended to have a Public Safety officer be stationed at the top of the Wildcat Path during the night hours.

Another senior student who wished to be anonymous also shared her experience feeling unsafe on campus, despite security.

“I had a pretty traumatic experience last year with a Lyft driver who took advantage of the fact that I left some of my personal belongings in the car the night before,” the student shared. “We were trying to get in contact with him all day, and when we finally did, he started sending creepy messages via text asking me to meet up with him and go on a walk with him.”

The driver also asked her for money and then threatened her.

After the student reported the incident to Public Safety, the Lyft driver’s car was banned from campus. When asked why she felt she needed to do this despite the security booth on West Campus she explained that

“In the past, security would let anyone through, especially on West Campus,” she said. “And thinking about the Commons, there is really no security at all. I think that making sure his car was banned was important because the campus is so open that people in other places besides West [Campus] that do not have a security booth might feel more vulnerable.”

To enhance safety, the University should consider putting security booths in these open areas, such as South Campus. South Campus is not only filled with freshmen who are new to campus, but it is also more isolated from the rest of campus and surrounded by neighborhoods unaffiliated with the University.

These security booths would not only make students feel more comfortable, but would discourage outside individuals from violating student’s privacy.

The safety of students, staff and community members is a top priority. And while the University is working hard to protect students, there is more work to be done. And for students, it is critical we hold our peers accountable, look out for one another and approach this issue with the gravity it deserves.

To report a sexual assault or an act of sexual misconduct, call Public Safety at 610-519-5800; the Title IX Coordinator Ms. Ryan Rost at 610-519-8805; or a Deputy Title IX Coordinator. For more information on support resources, call the Sexual Assault Resource Coordinator (SARC) at 484-343-6028. For more information on Villanova’s sexual misconduct prevention and education efforts, visit: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/sexual-misconduct/education.html

For the National Sexual Assault Hotline, call 1-800-656-4673.