University Park saw a rise in sexual assaults and liquor law violations last year, according to a university e-mail outlining crime statistics for 2005.

In compliance with state and federal requirements, the university e-mailed a copy of the statistics to all students, even though few were aware of the report or the information it contained.

University Police Assistant Director Tyrone Parham said the report encompasses all student crimes on campus and the immediate adjacent areas.

Parham said although the 102 reported sexual assaults in 2005 was eight more than in 2004, that doesn't necessarily mean there were more sexual assaults -- a crime that is so underreported it's hard to gauge.

He added that a higher number of sexual assaults could be an indicator that more victims are reporting the crime rather than remaining silent.

The crime report showed the percentage of reported sexual assaults in homes or apartments decreased, while the assaults in residence halls more than doubled from 2004.

There have been five sexual assaults reported to university police and State College police in the past three weeks.

At first, some students were shocked by the number of incidents.

"That's a lot of sexual assaults," Mark Frederick (senior-agriculture business) said.

Other students attributed the high number of assaults in campus residence halls to the low lighting and infrequent foot traffic.

"People, even if they are drunk, might help [a victim] downtown; usually everyone is off-campus," Ashleigh Finnigan (junior-public relations) said.

The report documented 215 more liquor law arrests in 2005 than the previous year -- continuing the steady increase in the last three years.

Frederick said underage drinking was "definitely" the most common offense on campus.

"It's pretty easy for underage kids to get alcohol on a college campus," he said.

He added that the number of unreported liquor law violations is probably significantly higher than the statistics report because a lot of offenders aren't getting caught.

Frederick said about 10 of his friends are probably included in the 2005 report and the majority of his friends have committed at least one or more of the crimes.

"Most of the people I know -- everyone but two or three percent of the people I know [have violated those rules]," he said.

Frederick, like numerous other students, was not aware of the publicized reports.

"The public drunkenness has to go down," Parham said. "Underage is underage -- they're going to drink no matter what anyone says -- but the public drunkenness is becoming dangerous."

Finnigan said liquor laws are the most common crime among students because of the atmosphere.

"Because it's a college town, and a majority of the town is college students, drinking is a part of the culture," she said.

Theft also ranks among the most frequently committed offenses.

Jenny Lowman (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she expected theft to be a common crime because many are not cautious with their belongings.

Parham confirmed that theft was a common occurrence in the crime statistics and usually ranked in the top two -- this year theft was nine offenses behind underage drinking.

"It takes one extra second to lock the door," Parham said, adding that unattended property in high traffic locations like the Pattee Library and HUB-Robeson Center account for most thefts.

Although most students said they are not reading the annual crime reports, which police say is really meant for parents and faculty, some said they still recognize the potential danger.

"I always go out with large groups of people and we watch out for each other," Finnigan said. "Whether it be sexual assault or not being stupid while drinking."

While some students said they expect the 2006 report to be even more shocking than 2005, Finnigan said she expects students to have wised-up this year.

"It'll hopefully be less because of the punishments and consequences," Finnigan said. "There are more resources, and I kind of think Penn State students are getting smarter."