Ideally, the most daunting part of starting the school year is setting your alarm clock and braving the lines at the book store. But, for many students, the beginning of each semester poses much graver threats.

Rape and sexual assault are crimes that particularly afflict college campuses at the beginning of each fall semester. The demographic most commonly affected is young women, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. More than half the student population at SF State are women, and more than half are between the ages of 18 and 24.

Nina Jo Smith, coordinator at The SAFE Place, said that the first 30 days of school tends to be the most at-risk time of the year.

The SAFE Place is an on-campus resource center that provides counseling and education on the issue of sexual abuse.

"The most likely place for any sexual assault to occur is in the home of the victim or perpetrator," Smith added. "And therefore, in our campus community, it's likely to be among the residence community."

In 2005, The SAFE Place recorded two incidents of rape on campus and six off campus. The full scope of the problem is difficult to gauge, however, because a large majority of survivors do not report the crimes against them. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95.2 percent of rapes go unreported.

Karla Castillo, a prevention education specialist at The SAFE Place, said that the center tends to frame the issue of prevention around "the three A's" of awareness, assessment and action.

Students are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings, to learn to assess the hallmarks of a dangerous situation, and to know their options for immediate action.

One of the most important things to be aware of, Castillo noted, was the connection between these crimes and alcohol consumption.

"Although there is the trend of date-rape drugs, the biggest date-rape drug is alcohol," she said. "You don't really need much more; alcohol is used a lot."

Smith agreed. "The connection between alcohol and sexual assault, in the history of all of the cases I've seen on campus among students, has been almost 100 percent," she said.

Castillo also suggests that students try to take dating slow at first and to consider double-dating.

"I've heard of people going on a date in a car and, you know, someone's then alone with this fairly new person and they're taken advantage of," said Castillo. "You think you're going out on a date and what's going to happen is something consensual, but it doesn't turn out being that way."

Castillo also noted that going out in groups is one of the most tried and true methods of violence prevention.

"The whole buddy system is really important -- going out with friends, making sure people are sober, making sure people get home safely as a group of friends," she said.

Once a situation clearly becomes dangerous, however, Castillo urges students to leave the situation immediately. Women who tried running, she noted, were about 81 percent successful in their escapes.

Smith also urged potential perpetrators of sex crimes to consider their future. "Now, if anyone is convicted of a sex crime, they have to register as a sex-offender for their entire lives," said Smith. "So, committing that crime at 18 - at the beginning of your college career - is a really bad idea."

This year, The SAFE Place is making a point to acknowledge the fact that the vast majority of guys do not commit sexual assault. "And, most of them would intervene to stop something from happening if they knew how to do it -- or really, if they had the skills to do it," Smith remarked. "So, this year we're really focusing on empowering those guys, and kind of celebrating the good guys."

"I like to say that there is no safe place except that which we provide for one another," Smith said. "So, I think it takes everybody really watching out for each other and caring about what's happening with the other person. And really, you know, taking the steps to take care of each other."

Click the link on the right to view the mutlimedia.