UNC students buzzing after campus rape allegation
CHAPEL HILL (WTVD) -- The rape allegation by a UNC Chapel Hill sophomore against a football player is the talk of the campus.
"It has a lot of students really, really vocal," UNC sophomore Philip Cave told ABC 11.
And senior Kara Bloomfield added, "A lot of the rhetoric around campus right now is that people are lying about sexual assault or that it didn't really happen. And, um, I mean it's a negative consequence of what happens when you report. You have to accept that people are going to say things."
Bloomfield said she wasn't surprised to hear that reporting of sexual assaults increased dramatically after the university instituted a new "Dual Consent" policy for students three years ago.
The policy states that both parties must consent to having sex and neither can be incapacitated.
Delaney Robinson, the UNC student from Apex who claims that football player Allen Artis raped her earlier this year, admitted she was engaging in underage drinking when the encounter took place on Feb. 14.
Most students we spoke with think the policy is a good one and were pleased to hear in the two school years after the policy was implemented, informal investigations increased by 156 percent and formal investigations increased by 52 percent.
RELATED: UNC ATHLETE LINKED TO ALLEGED RAPE TURNS HIMSELF IN
But some students say those statistics took a hit when Robinson came forward this week.
"It's good that people feel more comfortable and like they are going to be supported coming forward," said UNC student Psalms White. "But as we can see with the young lady that came forward the other day, it's still not completely all the way where it needs to be."
Her friend and fellow student Abbey Cmiel weighed in.
"Even if there are more cases being represented it's still like a highly difficult experience to go through and she may have still felt uncomfortable," Cmiel said.
Both Cmiel and White say they believe Robinson's story.
WATCH: Delaney Robinson talks exclusively to ABC News
Others say they are waiting and hoping to hear both sides before they pass judgment.
"We need to have both sides of the story to get all the information and the facts. Then we can conclude on the truth of her claim," Cave said.
Bloomfield, who says she filed a sexual harassment complaint against a UNC staffer, agreed.
RELATED: UNC student claims rape by football player; athlete suspended from team
Because of her good experience with the university, she said she's not ready to pass judgment on investigators and administrators or Robinson.
"I'm not sure if I would agree that UNC isn't doing the right thing because I think that, at least in my handling, they did a really wonderful job," Bloomfield said. "And I think they are extra careful of it now, but I'm not going to say that I don't believe her because none of us were there."
WATCH: Raw video of Tuesday's news conference for UNC student who claims she was raped by UNC football player
Typically, ABC11 does not name victims of sexual assault, however, Robinson has come out publicly.
