OU student fears for safety after rape reported at her campus apartment complex

By Meghan Mosley

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    NORMAN, Oklahoma (KOCO) — University of Oklahoma students called for changes to safety protocols after reported rape on campus early Saturday morning.

At around 3:45 a.m., a victim living at Traditions East Apartment on OU’s campus told police they were assaulted in the parking lot. A student living where the sexual assault took place said the apartments don’t appear to have any cameras on their buildings, and she wants to change that.

“I would love to see cameras, maybe even in the parking lots,” OU student Olivia Gray said.

The reported rape took place in the parking lot of the campus housing complex, according to OUPD. Gray, who lives at the complex, said she doesn’t feel safe.

“There’s no cameras here, so you just feel like people can get away with anything. There’s no accountability for people who steal things or break into cars or commit really crazy violence,” Gray said.

The Women’s Resource Center in Norman, an advocacy nonprofit for victims of sexual assault and stalking, said 10 to 15% of victims they see are OU students.

“They’ve gone up over the last two to three years, and part of that is awareness. During COVID, there wasn’t really an opportunity for people to access our services,” Kristy Stewart, the executive director of the Women’s Resource Center, said.

While Gray said she hasn’t been a victim of these crimes, she hopes to never see the day.

“I just feel like I’m always on guard. I lock my door immediately,” Gray said. “People are even questioning the victims if it happened or not, because there is no proof because there aren’t cameras, and that’s really discouraging.”

OUPD has not released any description or information of a suspect in the assault case.

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