Four thousand, nine hundred and eight.

Does this number mean anything to you? It should. This is the number of undergraduate women at Saint Mary's and Notre Dame whose safety is in jeopardy. But what, you may be asking, could warrant this threat?

On March 25, a male member of the Notre Dame community allegedly raped a fellow student in a residence hall. The victim has chosen not to press charges, and so the Office of Student Affairs will take no action to discipline the accused. I am disturbed and disgusted that this man will not be held responsible for his animalistic actions. He is a predator to every woman on both campuses, and what bothers me even more is that no one knows who he is.

The next woman he takes to an SYR or meets at a bar and brings back to his room will not know that this person violated someone he knew in the most intimate way. If he is not being held accountable for raping this student, will he realize that what he has done is wrong? If he could rape one woman, what will stop him from raping another? Nothing.

It is time for the Saint Mary's and Notre Dame communities to open their eyes and realize that 68 percent of rape victims know their attackers. The reality is that we don't like to think about rape happening here. As a freshman, I thought I was surrounded by the good, upstanding people of Catholic institutions. I was naïve, but the truth is that though we may not like to think so, the people we sit with in class or socialize with on weekends are capable of rape.

There seems to be a stigma attached to acquaintance rape — that since it was someone the victim knew rather than a strange man in a back alley that somehow the experience is less horrific. I think the opposite is true. I find it even more animalistic that anyone could rape someone he knows. The stranger has no connection to you, but the acquaintance has held a conversation with you. He could be a fellow student. He could sit next to you in class. He could be your lab partner or your date for Saturday night.

As a community, we can no longer be silent. We should demand that Student Affairs create a policy to discipline rapists, even if the victim chooses not to press charges against her attacker. Protecting members of the Saint Mary's and Notre Dame community from being victimized and holding people accountable for their actions should be a priority.

To the 4,908 undergraduate women on both campuses: Remember that rape is rape no matter who the perpetrator. We need to join together and let the administration know that we will not allow our safety to be compromised.

To the rapist: Maybe you thought that she didn't mean it when she said "no." Perhaps you think that what you did isn't a big deal or that she'll get over it. If that's what you think, read the story on the front page of today's Observer and think again.

• A predator among us