Sexual assault.

It's a taboo topic happening on our college campuses, in our own back yard.

Monday, a Marietta College Professor reached out to the community with a very important message.

Psychology Professor Mary Barnas presented her research on sexual assault.

Barnas says she focuses on both protecting yourself and your friends.

She says its important to talk about this topic because sexual assault is extremely common on college campuses, and it's all about prevention.

"The culture of large group activity, substance use, a lot of single people getting together, kind of facilitates an environment where we unfortunately have active perpetrators of sexual assault," said Barnas.

Barnas speaks about sexual assault prevention multiple times a year, so the Marietta community will have other opportunities to hear from her.