As California colleges reel from reported rapes to start the school year, the University of Oregon has been rocked by five incidents of sexual assault during the first week of classes.

The college issued an alert on Sept. 30 after receiving reports of five sexual assaults that occurred on or near campus during the start of the school year.

The five incidents of sexual assaults are being investigated by the University of Oregon and Eugene Police Department.

Four incidents involved University of Oregon students. A fifth happened off-campus near the Alton Baker Dog Park, adjacent to university property.

“These assaults are not believed to be related, but several alleged perpetrators may have taken advantage of the fact that the victims were intoxicated at social events,” the university’s alert read.

The college said that the impacted students have been provided support resources. The incidents are being investigated by the University of Oregon and the Eugene Police Department.

In light of recent allegations of a gang rape by an unidentified college student in the “Cornell 7” case, which has sparked national outrage about campus safety, Oregon lawmakers are speaking out against on-campus sexual assaults.

“Jane Doe’s story is as harrowing and heartbreaking as the fact that it is not unusual. I see these five cases in the first week of classes not as an increase in violence but an increase in students finding their voice to speak on it,” said Rep. Lisa Fragala (D-Eugene), chair of the Committee on Higher Education, according to KEZI 9 News.

“Survivors know this story is NOT one in a million,” added Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Gladstone and Oregon City), chief sponsor of Oregon’s Campus Survivors Act (HB 3456), which gives students who experience sexual assault access to free advocacy, medical, and counseling services.

The University of Oregon received reports of five sexual assaults that occurred on or near campus in the first week of classes. Getty Images

“The headline out of Cornell, and the scrutiny of how institutions responded, are another painful reminder of a pattern survivors know all too well. And at the center of it is another woman, identified as Jane Doe, who decided to fight back.”

Rep. Nancy Nathanson (D-North Eugene) said that educational institutions must take a more proactive approach, as incidents of sexual assault severely affect a survivor’s mental and social well-being.

“College campuses are meant to be a place where young adults learn, grow, and become themselves, and we cannot allow for this disgusting behavior that causes lasting damage to the lives and futures of these young women enduring this harm,” Nathanson told KOIN 6 News.