A University of Arkansas student told the University Police Department that she was raped last Saturday. UAPD says it has collected evidence and sent it to the state crime lab for analysis. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
University Police are calling it an acquaintance rape, meaning that the alleged victim knew the person she says raped her. In the last two years there have been six forcible sexual assaults on the U of A campus, five of the six have been referred to by UAPD as acquaintance assaults.
Nina Rivero, a U of A sophomore from the Dallas area, said she feels safe on campus, "I feel like this is a really safe campus and every time I`m at the library late or I`m an engineering student so sometimes I have late classes. I call safe ride or I walk with a friend."
Kylie Brewer, a freshman from Austin Texas, said she feels safe at the University. Brewer said learned about campus services designed to protect students at freshmen orientation,
"I've actually used safe ride once but that`s about it. There`s the little poles around campus that you press the button and I guess people will come to help you."
All colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs are required to submit an annual report containing information on many crimes include sex offenses.
In the most recent report, there were a total of 14 forcible sex offenses in the three year reporting period at the University of Arkansas.
The University of Virginia report lists 15 forcible sex offenses in the same period. The University of Pennsylvania had 12 in the last year alone, and 30 in three years, more than double that at the University of Arkansas.
Scott Flanagin with U of A Student Affairs is proud of the schools safety record, “We do have lots of things in place if students feel unsafe. There`s Razorback patrol, there`s safe ride and they know how to access those and the information is on the back of their ID card. They know that if there`s a situation that arises where they feel uncomfortable that they have a place to call and they can get some help.”