Ohio University is known by Playboy as the number one party school in the country, and maybe we can put on a rad gathering during Welcome Weekend, but other than that, not too much commotion goes on around here in the small community of Athens. And that’s the way most of us like it.

Recently a DNA test has linked three separate accounts of sexual assault to one male. Now that this “OU Rapist” has surfaced, many students are coming forward and standing together to try and catch the person that is causing an uproar in our small college community.

In an attempt to expunge the fears, OU has vamped up security. Ohio University Police Department Officers can be seen patrolling the campus at the wee hours of the night, not searching for intoxicated students on their way home from the bars, but being a presence of law enforcement and doing everything they can to keep the students safe.

But police presence hasn’t just been increased throughout the hours of the nights. OUPD has been seen walking around with K-9 units over the past weekend.

Many students, especially female students, have expressed their concerns and fears regarding the rapist. The fact that he has been known for attacking late at night and preying on young women walking home late has forced students to take the appropriate precautions.

OUPD has even decided to host a five-week long Rape Aggression Defense Training Course. Even though the department is hoping to catch this sexual assaulter before the training course is over, it’s a good precaution to take. And one that will give some students a piece of mind.

Although this issue is extremely sensitive and unfortunate, it has forced students to become more aware of their surroundings and begin practices that are beneficial, even without a serial rapist running around. No matter how late into the night or where someone is coming from, they should not walk home alone.

Finding people to walk with is not typically a challenging task. With over 17,000 undergraduate students living on campus, and thousands more living off campus, it’s not difficult to find other people walking in the same direction. And if college girls can make friends brushing their teeth in the bathroom at midnight, I’m convinced that friends could be made walking home together as well.