Safety is one of the most important concerns on every college campus, yet one in five students experience some form of sexual assault in their four years of college life.

This statistic may come to a surprise to many students at Linfield because of the size of our school, but it is absolutely the case for small campuses, as well as big ones.

For the past nine months, a survey questioning students’ experiences with sexual violence was sent out to 57 private colleges across the nation.

A group called the Higher Education Data Sharing, otherwise known as HEDS, conducted this survey in order to discover how prevalent sexual harassment is on college campuses.

The survey asked for both those who have experienced unwanted sexual contact or sexual assault and those who have not, to participate.

The idea and intentions of this survey seem to be in the right place, but there is one problem. The results of the survey and the schools that participated are being withheld from the public.

The director of the survey, Kirsten Skillrud, said, “To facilitate this open sharing of data among HEDS institutions, we promised that we would neither publicize the results nor identify the participating institutions.”

If the results of this survey are not displayed, then what is the point?

The best way to make a change is by giving proof and speaking up.

In response to the withholding of the survey’s data, Jennifer Freyed, a professor at the University of Oregon, said, “One of the most important steps institutions can take in addressing sexual violence is to model and embrace transparency.”

By not sharing the results of this survey, students are not able to fully understant how big of an issue sexual assault is.

One of the statistics that was released from HEDS was that one in eight students that were sexually assaulted, told no one.

This is a big problem on all college campuses, including Linfield.

Linfield is a small campus and people may be afraid to speak up because they feel as though everyone will find out.

If students were aware of how big of a problem this is and that they are not the only one this has happened to, they may be more likely to report it.

It is also important for students to help their friends feel confident enough to report sexual assaults.

They may be able to encourage their friends to report if they have more facts and are able to make an informed decision.

Showing college students how real this matter is and how many people have undergone sexual abuse or harassment, could lead students to be more careful and aware on campus and coerce those who have been assaulted to speak up.