The majority of sexual assaults at the University of Colorado — 71 percent — occur during the fall semester. More than two-thirds of sex assaults — 67 percent — are committed against first-year students.
Those numbers, from the sexual misconduct survey CU conducted last fall, aren’t unique to the Boulder campus. They’re so common that people who work in higher education have come up with a name to describe the first few weeks of the fall semester: the “red zone.”
Though the statistics about sexual assault occurring most frequently during the fall semester and being perpetrated against first-year students weren’t surprising, CU officials who work on these issues say having campus-specific data about when, where and how sexual assaults occur has created a sense of urgency on campus.
“We’ve known this data for years,” said Teresa Wroe, director of education and prevention for CU’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance. “But we’ve seen the anxiety we’ve created for our campus, which is a good thing, because a lot of times people are like, ‘Well, what are you doing to solve this problem?’
“Now they feel that anxiety for themselves. Everyone is part of this process.”
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