West Virginia University students will join thousands of their peers across the country Thursday, Sept. 23, andGet Cardedto raise awareness about the risk and prevention of sexual assault.

About 50 WVU student volunteers will hand out wallet cards and information about the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE) throughout the day at the Mountainlair, Woodburn Circle and other prominent locations on campus.

The hotline, operated by the Rape, Abuse&Incest National Network, offers free, confidential counseling 24 hours a day.

Statistics suggest one in every four women will be the victim of sexual assault or an attempted assault while she is in college.

Deb Strouse, a sexual assault prevention educator at WVU , said the Get Carded program helps get critical information into the hands of people who need it most. People 16 to 24 years old are three times more at risk of being sexually assaulted than any other age group, she noted.

This is one event that involves many students at a grassroots level to help reduce the number of sexual assaults on campus,she said.We can never create enough awareness. A lot of students are hurt by nonconsensual sexual activity. Alcohol abuse is a huge contributor.

The goal of the nationwide effort is to reach 1.5 million college students on more than 1,200 campuses in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Students are the key to changing the direction of this issue,Strouse said.They are there in the situation when someone is about to take advantage of someone else and a bystander can make all the difference.

For more information, call Strouse at 304-293-1377 or 304-319-1654, or go to the Rape, Abuse&Incest National Network Web site (http://www.rainn.org/getcarded.html).