This year’s Bear Beginnings was loaded with programming to help first-year students like me adapt to college life. One feature definitely spoke to me the most—a skit called “The Date,” which educates students about rape and sexual assault.

I came to campus with what I thought was a decent knowledge about the issue of sexual violence. I had heard various statistics about the prominence of rape on college campuses. I knew that rape didn’t always occur between complete strangers and that aggressors often used alcohol and manipulative, pressuring language to force others into sex. I was also aware of rape culture, which applauds male sexual “conquest” and blames victims for “asking for rape” or being “overly sensitive.” But in retrospect, my understanding of the subject was highly limited.

“The Date” resonated with me in a different manner than anything else I had seen or heard. Although nothing can fully demonstrate the horror that rape victims experience, the use of internal monologues gave a glimpse at the physical and emotional pressure and pain that people feel before, during and after the offense. On the other hand, hearing the thoughts of the aggressor showed how one might be unaware that he or she is assaulting someone and how important it is for one partner to never assume the consent of the other.

The conversation I had with the other males of my floor after the production was equally moving. Everyone seemed to receive the skit’s messages on a deep level, and we agreed that rape is completely the fault of the aggressor. We also established that stepping in to stop a potential rape would not be shamed as “cock blocking” but would rather be expected and honored as a necessary act. By stating this, we took a step against rape culture and made it clear that we would have zero tolerance for sexual assault.

A floormate of mine also pointed out something that I had never considered: his high school had never showed anything like “The Date” to students. The rest of the room noticed similar gaps in their education on rape, which must be closed.

In my personal experience, high school sex education focused heavily on the importance of abstinence and safe sex, as well as how people can harm themselves with alcohol and drugs. But essentially none of the content focused on the definition, risk factors and effects of rape.

A 2011 Center for Disease Control and Prevention survey indicated that 47.4 percent of high school students nationwide had engaged in sex, and 38.7 percent of students had consumed alcohol in the month prior to the study.

Given these statistics and the correlation between alcohol and acquaintance rape, it seems obvious that high schools should utilize comprehensive and emotionally impactful programs like “The Date” for education on rape.

But though “The Date” and its accompanying conversation were powerful, the production has been shown to Washington University students for years, and rape still remains a pervasive issue here. In fact, Kim Webb, Washington University’s director for the Office of Sexual Assault and Community Health Services, said that anonymous surveys have indicated that our school is at the national average for prevalence of rape on campus. About one in five women and one in 71 men are victims during their college careers.

Senior Clare Mulligan, the play’s director, kept these statistics in mind with her script updates, which made the show more relatable for students and paid extra attention to defining rape.

A single play, however, will not be enough to end rape and rape culture at this school and beyond. Webb described a number of recent and upcoming programs that Washington University hopes will solve the problem. One of these is Green Dot, which trains bystanders to intervene in potential rape situations.

Webb also mentioned #RewindBlurredLines, which is a follow-up event to “The Date” offered to first-year students. First implemented last year, it is a play produced by theater students in which actors perform a show once, then re-perform it, giving audience members a chance to stop the action at any time, take the place of an actor and challenge any aspects that they feel are wrong. Through improvisation, students have a real-life scenario where, Webb says, they can try “something that they think might work and find out how it works, if it works and the difficulties they might encounter.”

Webb said that this semester, Wash. U. is also bringing back its men’s group against rape, which was previously grouped into Community Organized for Rape Education. The group will offer a space for men to discuss elements within the school’s culture that need to change and offer support for male victims of rape.

Such programs address issues of rape at a cultural level. As the community continues to engage in thought and conversation about rape on campus, it will hopefully form a deep-rooted awareness and reduction of rape and sexual assault.