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Davidson students march to bring awareness to sex assaults

DAVIDSON, N.C. — As colleges across the country talk about sex assaults on campus, students marched at Davidson College Thursday. Students told Channel 9 they are unique in the fight because it's a small school and the chances of a victim running into an attacker are high.

Students say the school doesn't do enough to protect victims.

Susanna Vogel said a fellow student at Davidson College raped her.

"I run into him about four times a week minimum," Vogel said. "So it's hard. It's very hard to see him."

Vogel went public with her story in April, describing her rape and her disappointment with the college's system to deal with it.

"Our system like the system at a lot of different colleges and universities is broken," Vogel said.

The accused attacker has a no-contact order but she said it does little for her when she runs into him on campus. She said her case before the school has been both painful and lengthy.

"You can't really be an effective Davidson student while you're going through this process," Vogel said. "So if we could shorten that timeline it would be very helpful."

She hopes her story inspires change and students at the school are helping her in that quest. They've organized a march to both support sexual assault victims and to examine the school's policies.

"For a campus that prides itself on an honor code, I don't see the honor in policies that will suspend a student for cheating but not for raping a fellow student," organizer Jordan Luebkemann said.

Organizers said they're thankful that so far administrators have listened.

"Our administration could be doing a lot less, but we still have a long way to go," organizer Hailey Klabo said.

Channel 9 spoke with the college's president, who said she told students she is open to changing the sexual assault policy.

More than 200 students marched on campus Thursday morning and organizers said the march was about showing college officials they want change.

Students said when it comes to traumatic events like rape, it's important to resolve the cases quickly.

According to the current policy, a typical sexual assault investigation takes about 60 days. It takes another 10 days for a hearing to be held.

When asked if she thinks the current policy works, the Associate Dean of Students said the college wants to be thorough in their investigations.

She did say the school is going to be reviewing their sexual assault policy this summer. They're also looking to create a task force with students next school year. The school could not comment on Vogel's case because it's still pending.

Concerned students have also started a petition:

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