Stay True to Yourself by Benedictine University blogger Karly Sacco

There are many changes that happen between senior year of high school, and going into your freshman year of college. There are more temptations that you have to control and learn from. Being a senior I know that it is extremely important your first year of college to learn right away how to be safe at school. Have common sense. If you go into your first year with your head held high, your confidence, and your guard is up then you are off to a great start. Unfortunately for girls, we cannot be too trusting of others right away. We will always have our guard up whether we want it to be there or not. We have all been hurt in the past, so that shield automatically stays up where ever we go.

However, when you’re starting off at a new school that comes in handy. I am going to sound really cliché and say this but, don’t fall into per-pressure. If you don’t want to do something, then don’t do it. It’s as simple as that! Stay true to yourself and let people like you for your true self, instead of being fake and then you might end up not having any true friends right off the bat.

Being a freshman is scary; we have all been there. Everything seems so new, big exciting, and crazy all at the same time. But as I said before you have to keep your head held high and focus on why your there in the first place which is to go to school and have an amazing time. I know when I first started college; I was not very social or involved in any groups. But as soon as I opened up and became friends with people that were interested in the same hobbies as me, it made me feel safe and wanted by students just like me. So it is okay to talk to random people, just try to have a good judge of character. If someone is being kind of weird, or you have a bad vibe, maybe you shouldn’t continue to be friends with him or her. But once you do find a good group of friends, stay with them and maintain a great relationship with those people. They will be your safety net when you need someone to talk to, if something bad happens and you’re afraid, or even if your just scared to walk across campus at night and you need a buddy.

So my main advice for incoming freshmen is to not be afraid to have your guard up. If something feels off, then don’t pursue it. Once you find yourself, find a good group of friends you feel safe and comfortable with and that make you happy. As long as you stay true to yourself you will be fine!

Students Should Speak Up by Benedictine University blogger Karly

It is a scary topic. Most people feel uncomfortable when it is brought up but the truth of the matter is it has to be talked about. College students rarely discuss the issue of sexual assaults on campuses. Being a college student myself, I will admit that it is a very difficult topic to grasp because the reality is that unfortunate incidents of sexual assaults do happen on college campuses. However, most of us do not realize that it is really up to us to make a difference to prevent assaults from happening in the future. Here are a few ways that college students can get involved to help prevent sexual assaults on campus.

Increase male participation- In my personal opinion I feel that more girls than guys at colleges are aware of the topic of sexual assaults and how to prevent them from happening. If more boys were aware of the outcomes that assaults cause on the victims I feel that they will hopefully get more involved and spread the word of awareness.

Don’t get involved with the wrong people- We can only do so much to try and prevent sexual assaults from happening at college, but unfortunately it still does happen so the most important thing to do is to be smart and don’t make bad choices or put yourself into sticky situations and hopefully this wil be the biggest aspect in preventing sexual assault.

Be more than a Bystander - Don’t be afraid to speak up. I know that it can be really hard if someone that you are close to or are friends with is a victim of sexual assault but in the long run it will benefit them if you SPEAK UP and tell someone that can do something about it so that it does not happen again.

If the unfortunate incident of a sexual assault occurs on a college campus students should make the victim feel comfortable, giving them a safe environment.