A Lafayette student was allegedly raped by a student acquaintance on Halloween at 11:30 p.m. in a residence hall on campus, according to a report by public safety.

The student reported the incident approximately a week and a half later, on Nov. 10 at 4:15 p.m.

The specific residence hall in which the alleged rape occurred cannot be disclosed, in order to protect the rights of the victim, according to Associate Director of Lafayette College Public Safety Jeffrey Troxell.

This is the first reported rape on campus this semester, but the second reported sexual assault, the first of which was reported on Sept. 7.

Sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior without the explicit consent of the victim, and includes rape, attempted rape, forced sexual acts such as oral sex, fondling or unwanted sexual touching, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) website.

The incident was reported as a rape, because that was the particular language used by the victim when filling out the report, Troxell said.

The alleged rape was not reported through a campus wide email, otherwise known as a Clery notification. Under the Clery Act, a provision of Title IX that requires all colleges and universities who receive federal funding to inform the public of crimes in or around campus, emergency notifications must be sent out to campus if the crime presents a serious or continuing threat to the campus community.

According to Troxell, this particular incident was not cause for a Clery notification.

“Based on the facts of what we’ve understood, it was not a timely threat to campus,” Troxell said.

Public safety will be conducting an investigation following the student report. Because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, Troxell could not provide additional specifics on the case. Title IX and Equity Coordinator Amy O’Neill and Deputy Title IX Coordinator John McKnight also declined comment.
For survivors and victims of sexual assault, Troxell stressed the importance of the Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment (SASH) website as a resource available to Lafayette students.

On the SASH website, students can submit a report if they or someone they know has experienced sexual assault, domestic or dating violence, stalking or sexual harassment. They can also receive information about the different types of charges they can choose to pursue, as well as different support groups and advocates available to them on campus.