April is sexual assault awareness month, and as college students, it is important we are aware of just how serious sexual assault is. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. What is even more alarming is that 90 percent of these crimes are never reported.

With statistics like this, many would assume that colleges are combating the problem, but in many cases, it seems as if they are covering it up. A 2015 documentary, "The Hunting Ground," brought light to this issue and ignited a fire by showing people all over the country that sexual assault can happen anywhere and that many people are doing nothing to stop it.

In the documentary, sexual assault survivors speak out about their cases. What is shocking is that many of them share the same story in which they report their rape and school officials do very little to help them, some even questioning if the individual asked for it. Although I do not believe that every college campus is doing the same thing, I think that this is a serious nationwide issue and one that needs to be addressed and solved as soon as possible.

It is scary to think that so many women and men are suffering in a place where they are supposed to have the best years of their life. It is not fair that some universities are more concerned about their reputation than they are about the well-being of their students. We have all heard the statistics and taken the online course, but it is still shocking to see just how many people are affected by this epidemic.

The biggest thing that worried me about "The Hunting Ground" and what it revealed was that many students are afraid to report their assaults because they know that nothing will be done. After watching the documentary I began to wonder how many more cases there are that even the statistics do not show.

I know that nothing will change overnight, but I am grateful that someone wanted to cast this issue into the limelight. The film has received both positive and negative reviews but has made waves nonetheless.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a serious issue and is something that everyone must be aware of. My hope is that this documentary has given more women and men the chance to speak out and has opened the eyes of those in charge of handling the cases.