What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”

Many people are concerned after learning that NIU ranks higher than any other Illinois state school in the amount of rapes reported on campus, as reported in the Star last Friday.

According to the story, NIU had 11 rapes last year while U of I had none, UIC and EIU had one each, ISU and SIU had three each and WIU had five. That means the total of the other schools was only two more than at NIU alone.

I am neither surprised nor concerned with those statistics. In fact, I am almost proud that NIU leads the state.

The only reason I say this is because I don’t believe the report. First of all, we just learned that those statistics are factually wrong. NIU had five, not 11 rapes. But I think there were a lot more sexual assaults on campus than reported to the Chronicle of Higher Education. It doesn’t matter if they say we had five, 11 or 50; we had more than were reported.

And I highly doubt that only 24 rapes took place last year on seven Illinois campuses. Maybe I’ve seen too many of those posters that claim that one in four women are raped, because I’m starting to believe them.

Most sexual assaults are what is known as “acquaintance rapes.” Often, they happen like this: A boy and a girl drink too much (or whatever) and the boy takes advantage of the girl. Although this is a very serious crime, it is rarely reported to police. And if it’s not reported to the police, it can’t be reported to the Chronicle of Higher Ed.

That’s where NIU comes in—daily, we are bombarded with information on rape and services for victims. People are strongly urged to report any unwanted sexual contact. Apparently, it’s starting to work because rapes are being reported on this campus.

Perhaps other schools don’t have such strong campaigns promoting rape awareness. Then again, maybe other schools cover up such damaging statistics.

NIU took a big chance by reporting all those rapes, because it’s not good for the school image. Parents and students don’t like those kinds of statistics. They like to think that they are safe. They prefer to hear how highly rated the English department is or how many victories the women’s basketball team has.

But, according to the report, NIU is a pretty dangerous place. As a matter of fact, it’s more dangerous than any other Illinois school.

I like to think that NIU is a very typical school. I refuse to believe that NIU is different than other schools when it comes crime. I take that back—obviously, NIU is different because it reports crimes.

With more rapes reported, there is a greater chance for future safety. People will be more cautious. The police will be able to apprehend the assailants. And, in the end, this will result in less rapes because the rapists will be behind bars.

More than anything, the report showed that we still have a long way to go before crime is extinguished. Obviously, rapes are still taking place. Society must realize that hiding from such statistics won’t make them go away. They must be reported.