At this point, almost everyone has heard about the story of Bill Cosby and the allegations held against him. All across America, people are taking in what happened and all are responding differently. Celebrities have even posted on twitter stating how they feel about what he did and many women's rights groups have started a conversation about a subject that no one seems to want to talk about.

Sexual assault.

Sexual assault is not prejudice. It can happen to anyone no matter their age, sexual orientation, gender, race, or religion. Sexual assault is something very real and the experiences don't always happen in Hollywood or on television. Sexual assault can happen anywhere at any time. A lot of people will never come forward about what happens to them because of what we have seen on television about assault. Women and men across the world have been victimized not only by the person who assaulted them but also by the people who do not believe them, the people who judge them, and the people who they tell. A lot of victims will never come forth simply because they are afraid that no one will believe them.

According to RAINN.org, the term sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. Rape falls underneath the umbrella that is sexual assault. Almost 1 in every 5 women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. 68 percent of victims will never report their assault and nearly 98% of rapists will never go to prison.

It is a sad world in which we live in. Unfortunately, a lot of people are uneducated when it comes to sexual assault and survivors of it. Most people are unsure of even the differences between rape and other forms of sexual assault, especially on college campuses across the nation.

In college, a lot of us will go to parties and want to drink. This is great as long as you are of age. Drinking is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it is not done in excess. Sadly, parties are the main places in which drinking in excess occur. Without being educated on sexual assault, a lot of people who are assaulted at college parties think that if they had not been drinking and having a good time they would not have been assaulted.

This is very, very wrong and has been told to us for so long that people have started to believe it. It does not matter what you have had to drink or what you were wearing. Assault is assault.

It is important that universities across the nation explain this to their students. I believe that every school should actively participate in preventing this issue as much as they possibly can. Making sure the students are aware of what sexual assault is and where they can go if it happens to them is a huge step in the right direction.

We need to stop making victims feel like they deserved what happened to them and stand up for victim's rights. This is something that everyone can make an effort to prevent.

It starts with us.