Classes began for students at N.C. State University a month ago. Since then, there have been three cases of sexual assault or battery reported on or near the main Raleigh campus. 

Campus police reported the first case on Aug. 28 in Owen Hall, a dorm in the center of campus. Police said they were looking for two men in that case. The second report came the next day, with a sexual assault reported at another dorm, Lee Hall.

In a separate case, a man was arrested for exposing himself at D.H. Hill Library, the main library on campus. 

The third assault was reported about a block from campus, off Hillsborough Street. In that case, Raleigh police said a man forced a woman into a car at about 11 a.m., drove her away from campus and assaulted her. 

“Students are really looking for community and support right now,” said Kaelie Giffel with the N.C. State Women’s Center. 

“I think a lot of students do feel unsafe because they communicate that to me, especially students that I supervise. But the Women’s Center is a point of contact for them. So they come here to kind of process those feelings,” she said. 

Part of their role at the Women’s Center is to help students learn how to stay safe on campus.

“If you are feeling unsafe, trust that feeling and do whatever you can immediately to help yourself,” Giffel said. 

“A lot of what causes sexual violence is imbalances of power. So one thing that I like to practice with my students is how do you know when you’re in a situation where you don’t have power? How do you read for that and how do you act accordingly?” she said.

N.C. State police also have safety tips for students:

• Pay full attention to your surroundings when you are in public
• Avoid using noise-canceling headphones and getting distracted by phone use, especially when walking outdoors
• Avoid walking or parking in shadowed areas
• Have your keys in your hand as you approach your door, and remember to be alert to what and who is around you
• Glance under your car, around it and in the back seat as you get in
• There is safety in numbers. If you go out at night, arrange to go with a companion or two
• Most victims/survivors are assaulted by someone they know, typically a date or acquaintance
• If you feel uneasy about a situation, recognize situations of potential harm, trust your instincts and attempt to interrupt the chain of events
• NC State has a Walking Safety Escort Services, which people can schedule by calling NC State University Police at 919-515-3000