FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT

DULUTH - An eight month investigation by the UMD Statesman finds hundreds of sexual assault cases go un–reported every year.

School officials say while they have no problem with the information in the article, they do have an issue with the message.

"I think if you read the articles you might take away that the university's doing very little in the way of prevention and I don't think that's true," said Lisa Erwin, Vice Chancellor for Student Life at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The student–run paper says the school doesn't require students to participate in sexual assault education programs, but the university says they do have many resources available.

"I think that's part of the key in increasing the likelihood that someone would report it is to have lots of different ways students can report so they can find the one that feels most comfortable," said Erwin.

Students say feeling comfortable reporting something as emotional and psychological as sexual assault doesn't come easy.

Rose Garcea, a freshman at UMD said, "It's especially hard if you don't have close friends here and it's hard to find someone you trust enough to tell. If you're super new to school and don't know any faculty members or anything like that it can be hard to figure out."

Erwin says in addition to an orientation presentation on the subject, they also train residence hall staff, athletes and have posters in bathrooms across campus.

Erwin said, "You may not have gone to the session, you might not have talked to your RA, but you see these in every bathroom on campus."

University of Minnesota-Duluth Police recognize the fact that sexual assault is vastly underreported on campus.

They're also working on solutions to help those who are silent to come forward.

"Our effort is re–focusing on victim centered service delivery, investigating sexual assaults and education and training," said Chief Scott Drewlo, of the UMD Police Department.

Despite a disagreement in how the university is tackling the issue, school officials say the paper has started a meaningful discussion.

"The most important measure is going to be just seeing new participation in the conversation, which needs to happen," said Drewlo.