Before the popularity of cell phones hit Penn State, it was common for female students to receive late-night anonymous calls on land lines from men using "lewd" language -- something Penn State University Police recorded as sexual harassment.

"Since cell phone numbers are private, sexual harassment in that nature has decreased," said Tyrone Parham, assistant director of university police.

However, a recent survey, conducted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), has found at least two-thirds of U.S. college students have been victims of sexual harassment.

And Internet technology has allowed sexual harassment to persist at Penn State, Parham said.

Police find more accounts of sexual harassment through the computer -- specifically on www.facebook.com.

"The titles and comments of certain groups could constitute sexual harassment," he said.

Although sexual harassment can range from unnecessary comments, gestures and behaviors to unwanted advances and touching, the severity of the harassment depends on the perception of the person experiencing it, Center for Women Students Director Peggy Lorah said.

"Words are a much more common experience than physical harassment," Lorah said. "It can make you feel bad about yourself, and it doesn't even occur to students to report it."

The national survey polled students at two- and four-year universities and asked questions about what they considered to be "examples of sexual harassment."

The online survey questioned 2,036 undergraduate students, ages 18 to 24, at colleges nationwide. The study had a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Parham said police do not often receive reports of offensive behavior and comments.

"I think people don't think it rises to that level to contact the police," he said.

State College Police Sgt. Mark Argiro said in a majority of sexual assault incidents, which include indecent touching and rape, the victims are female and know the perpetrator.

"We are fortunate in this town that stranger attacks are very rare," he said.

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance President Meghan Ochs said that in instances of repeated sexual harassment, the end result could be sexual assault or even rape. She said it can affect almost every woman's life, but it is just as much a man's issue as a woman's.

"Men who care about women should be concerned about these issues and should be working to stop it," Ochs said.

Ochs said most cases of sexual harassment, assaults and rapes are not reported because victims are often afraid to come out and admit what happened.

"People will often blame the victim," Ochs said.

Associate Director of the Affirmative Action Office Carmen Borges deals with investigations of sexual harassment of faculty, staff and students and said it could happen anywhere at any time.

"It's about a power relationship of one person over another," Borges said.

She said any individual who feels he or she could possibly be a victim of sexual harassment should document what is happening and talk to a faculty member or someone he or she can trust.

She said that Sexual Harassment Resource People is a group of more than 100 individuals at University Park and Commonwealth Campuses that has been trained to deal specifically with harassment issues.