QuickTake:

The University of Oregon is not currently disclosing details of the assaults because investigations are underway by the UO Police Department and Eugene Police Department, according to an emergency alert.

Five sexual assaults have been reported on or near the University of Oregon campus in the past week, the university announced in a “Campus Crime Warning” on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Four of the reported assaults involved university students, and the fifth occurred near Alton Baker Park, in which the Eugene Police Department made an arrest last week.

Monday marked the first day of classes for UO undergraduate students.

The university is not currently disclosing details of the assaults because investigations are underway by the UO Police Department and Eugene Police Department, according to the alert. 

UO has offered all “impacted students” support resources, it states. 

“These assaults are not believed to be related, but several alleged perpetrators may have taken advantage of the fact that the victims were intoxicated at social events,” the alert states.

The university is encouraging people to submit any information that may be helpful in the investigations to UO Police Department at 541-346-2919. The information disclosed can be kept confidential, the alert states.

The statement also outlined university rules that prohibit nonconsensual sexual activity and the use of force, coercion, threats, alcohol, or other drugs to facilitate sexual activity.

“No one should ever be sexually assaulted or victimized in any way,” the alert reads. “Submission, intoxication, incapacitation, or silence do not convey consent.”

The statement also states that “no action or inaction by a crime survivor makes that person responsible for their victimization,” and that perpetrators are responsible for crimes and their effects.

See the university’s additional safety tips and resources for survivors of crime here. 

The news comes amid outrage over sexual violence on college campuses across the country, sparked by explosive allegations that seven Cornell University fraternity members sexually assaulted a female student in 2024.

Multiple Greek life organizations at UO have issued recent statements denouncing the alleged incident at Cornell, including the fraternity chapters of Sigma Chi, Chi Psi and Sigma Nu. 

UO Fraternity and Sorority Life also made a post on Instagram on Tuesday, saying the division does not condone sexual violence in any form.

Grace Chinowsky graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in journalism. She served as editor-in-chief of the university’s independent student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, and interned at CNN and MSNBC. Grace covers Eugene’s city government and the University of Oregon.