The Red Zone on college campuses across the United States (U.S.) is the time period between the beginning of the Fall semester and Thanksgiving, when half of the year's recorded sexual assaults occur.
Kate Page, the Wright State University Compliance Specialist and Title IX Coordinator, shared how the university aims to support students while this zone is taking place.
"We share as much information as we can during the first few weeks of the semester to ensure that students are aware of what consent is and how to ensure they get clear consent before engaging in sexual contact. Our current campaign, called 'Nix the Icks', is focused on stopped unwanted behavior before it happens and encourages people to report it if it does happen," Page said.
One way students are able to stay aware of the statistics is through the Clery Report. This was born from the Jeanne Clery Act, which requires college campuses to report crime data, support victims of violence and outline policies that have been put in place to improve campus safety.
The Clery Report is included in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. This was emailed to all Wright State University students on Thursday, Oct. 1.
According to the report, there were a total of 12 cases of sexual assault reported in 2025, including rape and fondling. These numbers are up from 8 reported cases in 2024. As seen in the Campus Crime Log on the Wright State Guardian’s website, there have already been several cases reported in this Fall semester.
Nationally, 50% of rapes take place on college campuses within the first three months of the academic year. Camille Laurent, a writer for World Metrics, shared data on the number of cases that are followed up on by the justice system.
“Only 6% of reported sexual assaults result in an arrest, and just 2% result in a conviction.”
Camille Laurent
One case that has been sweeping the nation recently is the rape allegations at Cornell University in Oct. 2024. A 20-year-old female student reported that she was drugged and assaulted by 7 men from the University.
None of the men were criminally charged. Arshi Qureshi, a reporter for the U.S. Sun News, spoke about the punishments that were delivered to the alleged 7 assaulters.
“Two men were expelled, two were suspended, one former student was banned from campus and two received lesser sanctions including training and written assignments,” Qureshi said.
When students are sexually assaulted on college campuses, it can cause further damage to their academic careers. According to Open Access Government, sexual assault victims can have decreased academic performance, struggles with attendance and can lead to isolation. Studies show that 34% of college sexual assault survivors drop out of school.
Wright State’s Title IX office exists to support students who have faced sexual assault, including help reporting their case and resources to help them mentally.
"Whenever a potential Title IX report is received by the Title IX office, the Title IX office considers the well-being of the Complainant (person identified as being harmed) by providing them a list of supportive measures, identifying the Complainant’s goals and needs as part of the incident, and working with them to provide a supportive measures to help them, if necessary," Page said.
WSU Students who wish to report a sexual assault case privately can either call 1-(888)-353-3783 or fill out the form on the Anonymous Reporting Line website located on the Wright State Title IX page.
