Friday, Sept. 18, Lady Gaga released the video to her song, “Til it Happens to You,” The graphic video tackles the issue of college campus rape, with several scenes depicting situations students were forced into. Last December, Gaga revealed that she had been raped by a producer with whom she had work as a teenager. This incident inspired both this song, written for a documentary on campus rape, and another track, “wine,” which was on her 2013 album “Artpop.” A portion of the proceeds made are to be sent to organizations helping victims of rape.

According to CNN, nearly 20% of college students are victims of rape. With today’s date rape drugs, such as rohypnol (“roofies”) and GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutric, or “liquid ecstasy”), it’s very easy to slip a drug into a student’s cup without them noticing – as shown in the video, a young male student observing a few girls dancing nonchalantly slips a few drugs in each girls’ cup. In addition to this, many of the scenes in the video show students forcing themselves on their victims, without using any type of drug.

As I was watching this video, I realized that I had not actually thought much about how dangerous college campuses could be, and how easily anyone could get into a situation like this. Rape isn’t nearly well publicized as other crimes, let alone campus rape. Even though we don’t hear a lot about campus rape in the news, it’s still a problem we should always keep in mind. As a junior, myself and many of my classmates have begun to look at colleges  and go on campus visits. I had never thought of asking about the crime rates on campuses before seeing this video; I noticed how easily and how quickly situations could turn. Again, although we’re all excited about our future endeavors, our own safety is another factor to consider when choosing colleges.