The catcalls. The "hey baby" accompanied by the creepy leer. The "accidental" brush up against your body when you just happen to be in a skirt. Most women have experienced these blatant violations of their right to simply walk down the street in a nice outfit without being harassed by men who should know better.According to CNN, a survey conducted by the American Association of University Women found that although women are typically more likely to be harassed by men, both sexes are equally likely to be harassed on U.S. university campuses, contrary to what many would expect. An astounding 41 percent of the 2,063 American undergraduates surveyed reported that they had sexually harassed another person. Sexual harassment is not only physical, but also, according to the study's co-author, includes "remarks, gestures and jokes." The survey also found that college students found the harassment to be simply "a part of school life" or a stupid joke not to be taken seriously.

As a former Catholic high school student (four years in the short skirt with knee socks) I dealt with everything from boys trying to "sneak a peek" as I walked up the stairs to vulgar truckers beeping and hooting as I walked down the street with my friends. After graduation, I was thrilled to break free from my uniform, and I looked forward to college, where people would be more open and far more mature. Clearly, I had no idea what I was talking about.

College students, instead of being mature young adults, constantly harass both men and women. Every time a fashion-conscious boy is called "gay" or rumors are viciously spread about his sex life, he is being sexually harassed.

Unfortunately, the statistics reported on CNN do not apply only to bigger universities. According to Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett, these numbers ring painfully true here at Brandeis too. She described sexual harassment as a "very, very serious issue on campuses, as well as the workforce." She also stated the problem does not lie with authority figures misusing their power, but rather with the students who use harassment to intimidate and humiliate their peers. Bennett also said the University is obligated to provide information to students in order to enable them to better protect themselves from what she described as discrimination. The University provides a pamphlet to students each year in their mailboxes that clearly describes sexual harassment, the effects it can have on the victims and what those who have been sexually harassed should do.

Aren't we the future of America? The fact that 20-something-year-olds need to improve their self-esteem by degrading others is beyond pathetic. How is destroying someone else's reputation merely, as the American Association of University Women report found, "a part of school life"?

Sexual harassment is not an issue to be taken lightly. Harassment isn't only physical; it is still possible to harm someone in a far more dangerous and permanent way. Cruel jokes can permanently ruin someone's reputation and make him or her feel like less of a person. Nobody has the right to do that to anybody else, and nobody has the right to just sit back and watch it happen. It's time that students, instead of only the University, take action to resolve this perpetual issue. It's time that we stop merely observing, or joining, the joking and teasing. You never know, one day the person at the other end of everybody's "fun" could be you.