Thirty thousand students are enrolled in the University this semester — 43.5 percent of which are women, according to the Women’s Center. If trends continue, at least five rapes will occur on campus this fall.

Students affected by sexual assault have the availability of student support services on and off campus, including Interact, the S.A.F.E. Center, N.C. State Women’s Center, Women’s Health and the Counseling Center.

“Sexual assault is an act of control, power, anger, and violence. No one deserves to be violated in such a way, regardless of what she does for a living, what she wears, what she says, how she acts,” Laci Weeden, assistant director to the Women’s Center, said in an article in the Technician last spring.

The University offers students the Molly Hays Glander 24-hour Rape and Sexual Assault Response Line, which is managed by the Women’s Center. The MHG Response Line is staffed by volunteers who are trained with specific information on campus such as the role of Campus Police, Women’s Health, the Counseling Center, the Office of Student Conduct and Student Legal Services.

“The N.C. State Women’s Center and Health Promotions does a lot of rape prevention education across campus as well as training students and staff how to respond when a survivor discloses to them,” Shannon Johnson, director of the Women’s Center, said.

According to the center, one out of four women is a victim of rape or an attempted rape during their college years. In 2004, Campus Police reported 12 incidents of forcible rape, four of which took place on campus.

The advocates at the Women’s Center offer confidentiality, crisis information support and resources and referrals for survivors of rape and sexual assault.

Interact is a private, non-profit, United Way agency that provides safety, support, and awareness to victims and survivors of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, according to its Web site.

“Interact still services as a resource to our students should they choose to call them rather than the MHG Response Line,” Johnson said.

Although Interact is off-campus, it is located near campus, and offers a 24-hour crisis hotline for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The hotlines are staffed in part by volunteers. Interact provides services such as short-term counseling, court assistance, support groups, referrals and the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (S.A.F.E.) Center.

The S.A.F.E. Center is located at Wake Medical Center and is a designated area for the forensic examination and treatment of survivors of rape and sexual assault.

When a sexual assault survivor seeks the S.A.F.E. Center, he or she receives support from a nurse, an Interact advocate and a law enforcement officer. The survivor is interviewed and examined for evidence to aid in the investigation of the assault. An Interact advocate is available throughout the entire process for counseling, support groups and court advocacy.

“It takes a very strong person to go to the hospital to be examined after such a traumatic incident, to answer questions from police investigators over and over and to know that at some point you may have to testify in court,” said Weeden.

Women’s Health is an additional resource for students, located on the second floor of Student Health Services. It provides a gynecologist and two family nurse practitioners who are available to see women for a complete physical exam and pap smear test in addition to other services.

Women’s Health also offers various programs for meeting the physical and emotional needs of a rape victim or survivor.

The Women’s Center, located in Tally Student Center, also provides a safe place to hang out between classes. Its lending library contains a selection of books that may be helpful for survivors and their supporters during the healing process. Programs such as “Take Back the Night” help give voice to the violence, while also educating the campus.

The Counseling Center, located on Cates Avenue, provides services and counseling for students who are experiencing personal, academic or vocational problems. It provides psychological assessment and psychiatric consultation and referrals to other helping professionals and community agencies.

The majority of the services offered by the Counseling Center are free for enrolled students.

“Sexual assault is a societal problem that both women and men need to combat together,” Weeden said. “Let’s make NCSU a safe campus, free from the oppressive rape culture that exists in society.”