Reported rape has Ohio University students being extra cautious

ATHENS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio University Police Department is investigating after a rape was reported on campus this weekend.

According to the police report, a woman told police she was raped inside Shively Hall, one of the dorms on campus.

Students said they are shocked with some saying this puts them on edge and saying they’re going to be more cautious on campus.

According to police, the reported rape call came in around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, with the incident being reported as happening late Friday in an unknown room inside Shively Hall.

Police said the victim reported being hit in the head at some point during the assault.

This isn’t the first time campus police are investigating an incident like this just weeks into the school year.

According to campus police, there has been one other reported rape so far this semester, a sexual assault in which an arrest was made, and another reported rape for an incident that allegedly happened in 2018.

Last year during a similar timeframe at the start of the semester, three rapes were reported to campus police and another three were reported to Athens police.

Many students saw the email about the latest report this morning.

“It just made me scared,” said student Kayte Jewell. “If this is gonna happen the first two weeks, how much is it gonna happen?”

“I was really shocked when I saw that email this morning because of all the organizations I know about and the courses we had to take and I thought that would get into people’s mind, what they should and should not do, but obviously, it didn’t work, so I’m just more concerned now,” said student Kaylee Allen.

Jewell said her roommates are looking to each other for safety.

“Me and my friends, like, who live in my dorm with me, we don’t go to the bathroom alone, even, like, now, we don’t leave the room alone,” she said. “We don’t walk alone. The bathroom is right across from my room and I still won’t leave alone now.”

Just this year, Ohio University announced the Bobcat Save app is available to students. They can download it on their phones and it has a number of safety features like location services and crime reporting.