From the moment a freshman walks on campus until the day they leave for Thanksgiving Break, they are in the Red Zone.

Loosely defined, the Red Zone encompasses the first four months of the academic year, when more than 50 percent of sexual assaults occur, according to the 2007 Campus Sexual Assault Study.

“It is a very vulnerable time for students because they have so much new freedom and so few parameters,” said Jenny Richter, UT’s Title IX Coordinator. “They have absolutely nobody giving them the kind of rules that they had in the past – what you eat, where you go, who you visit, when you have to go home – all of that suddenly disappears.”

To date, three sexual assaults have been reported on UT’s campus this year. However, because sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, Richter said it is difficult to clearly distinguish data patterns.

“You’d be surprised by the number of people who don’t want to involve the police at all – and that’s their choice,” Richter said.

UT provides a variety of resources for sexual assault prevention, such as self-defense classes with the UT Police Department, educational seminars during freshman orientation and Speakologist training sessions which encourage students to be active bystanders who safely intervene on behalf of others.

But this year marks the introduction of the Red Zone Campaign, created by Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee to specifically address this dangerous national trend.

Nickie Hackenbrack, a senior studying biochemistry and member of SEAT’s executive board, said the campaign seeks to spark a campus-wide conversation about sexual assault and consent through tabling, posters, and other initiatives.

“The Red Zone needs to be addressed, because we deserve to have a campus free of power-based violence, and sexual assault survivors deserve to know that the university supports them,” Hackenbrack said.

In addition, SEAT will host a Bye Week Workshop on Sept. 20, covering issues like active bystanderism, Title IX rights and affirmative consent– a sometimes ambiguous term. According to UT’s Hilltopics Student Handbook, consent is an “affirmative verbal response or acts that are unmistakable in their meaning” in situations involving sexual assault or misconduct.

“The majority of sexual assaults on college campuses involve alcohol consumption on the part of the perpetrator, the survivor or both, so it’s important to see the connection between alcohol and sexual assault and understand that consent must be sober, continual and affirmative,” Hackenbrack said.

Freshmen often drink to excess during their first weeks of college due to the increased availability of alcohol, which can lead to dangerous decisions, UTPolice Department Sergeant Cedric Roach said.

“(It might be) that they don’t know their limits or the levels that they are actually drinking, or they don’t know what a typical serving size of an alcoholic beverage is,” Roach said.

Jillian Meitzler, a sophomore studying pre-medicine, recalls feeling out of place at her first college party. She hadn’t gone to many parties prior to finding herself at a stranger’s house in Fort Sanders.

“It was just an uncomfortable situation,” Meitzler said. “Some guys started fist fighting or boxing and — I don’t really drink but people were playing beer pong. I just wasn’t sure what to do. Am I supposed to dance? Play beer pong?”

With a year of college under her belt, Meitzler feels safer going to smaller gatherings where she knows most of the attendees.

“There were a lot of guys trying to get laid that night,” Meitzler said. “I couldn’t tell who was drunk and who wasn’t.

“I haven’t been to a party like that since.”

Balancing the rights of the survivor with the responsibility to protect campus can be difficult, but Richter encourages survivors to report the attack, whether or not they wish to press charges.

Richter stressed that survivors who report their assault can receive medical, emotional or academic support, and, above all, prevent further assaults.

For more information on how to report a sexual assault and available resources, visit wellness.utk.edu and click on the “Sexual Assault” tab.