Not so long ago, I called my friend on Saturday morning to ask her how her Friday night was. "I have a lot to tell you," she said. And as any friend would be, I was excited to hear about her night. I was practically pleading, because her stories were always exciting. She always had such fun nights, which always made for great stories the next day. She began her story, and her voice got unusually calm.

She started, “So, we went out to the bar …” Her story seemed like a normal night’s story - not normal in a bad way, but normal in a good way. She said she had gone out with a group of friends (because she knew I would yell at if her if she said she was alone), that she met a nice guy (she is beautiful, so I was not surprised), and that they all (my friend, her friends, and the guy she met) got back to campus around 3 a.m.

They got back to campus and decided to all crash in my friend’s room for the night. My friend had been drinking during the night, and said she was still pretty drunk, even at 3 a.m. Everyone had gone to sleep, but my friend and the guy she met were still up. “We talked a little, laid on the couch, and were just hanging out.” She then paused, and her voice lowered and cracked, leaving no trace of the calmness from before.

“Katie, I was raped. He raped me.”

I was speechless. In that moment I wish I wasn’t on the phone with her, because all I could think to do was give her a hug. What are the right words for your friend who was raped? Are there even words? “Oh my God,” my heart sank into my stomach, “Are you OK?” I felt like anything I said was stupid. I wanted to say something to make her feel better, but I knew I couldn't. Part of me didn't want to say anything, but I knew I had to.

We talked on the phone for an hour. She told me more about what happened and how she was feeling. “I was too drunk to know what I was doing,” she said. “I was too drunk to say no, or to even say anything, and I guess he took that as a ‘yes’.”

I have a friend who was raped and, sadly, you might too. Sexual assault on college campuses is very real. According to the Association of American Universities: 23.1 percent of female college students will be sexually assaulted and 10.8 percent of female college students will be raped.

Sexual assault on college campuses is very real, and while someone can't do everything, everyone can do something.