@Chanze3 “this thread makes me scared to apply to go to Stanford…”
@ewho “@Chanze3: after all these, do you think that Stanford should be the safest school now?”
If I were you, I would still apply to Stanford. It is a great school, and definitely worth considering.
However, when you visit the campus, I would be sure to ask specific questions about campus safety and what they have done to enhance student safety on campus in light of the recent student survey and in response to the protests on campus. It is good to ask questions about campus safety at other schools too.
It is important to keep in mind that it is difficult to tell which schools have the biggest issues with sexual assault because some schools are more transparent and honest in reporting what is happening on campus. I suspect that many of the schools that are low on the list may not be safer, but are not reporting all of the incidents they are aware of or may have different standard for what is included in their reports.
When you visit campuses, ask about what is done to ensure student safety and prevent sexual assault on campus. If a school fails to provide a thorough response, downplays the importance of your question, or can only say that a few other schools are even worse than they are, or tries to divert the discussion to discuss what other schools do, I would drop the school from your list.
To me, positive signs of a safe campus include taking questions about safety and sexual assault seriously, a strong presence of police and security staff on campus 24/7, security cameras and emergency phones throughout campus, a sense that greek organizations believe that are expected to comply with school rules and violations will be dealt with firmly, and providing all students with education about sexual assault.
I hope that by the time you visit, Stanford admissions will be prepared to provide a clear, detailed answer to address applicants concerns about safety and sexual assault.