From an unwanted touch to a comical whistle at a person walking down the street, sexual harassment comes in various forms and fashions.
"I've never seen it very blatantly, other than guys checking girls out and making noises towards them," said Katie Alfonso, a junior public relations major.
To some people, that whistle could mean an unwanted advance from a complete stranger.
"Whistling at a stranger is taking it too far," said freshman Patrick Canale. "I don't think that a lot of people would do that in public."
Yet sometimes the unwanted advancement comes from another student or even a professor on campus.
"I usually get two to three serious formal complaints a year," said Michelle Banks, the Equal Employment/Affirmative Action Compliance Officer at The University of Memphis.
As the EEO/AA officer, it is her job to investigate and report to U of M President Shirley Raines her findings. But sometimes that isn't easy.
"A lot of students don't want to write a formal complaint (against a professor) because they are afraid that it would hurt their grade," Banks said. "Most will say that they just want it to stop."
While the affirmative action office handles sexual harassment complaints against University employees, it is up to the Office of Student Judicial and Ethical Programs to handle complaints against students.
"There has been one case that sticks out in the four years since I've been here," said Dwayne Scott, Associate Dean of Judicial Affairs. "We've gotten complaints about an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend who won't stop calling or e-mailing, but nothing of sexual nature."
Scott said that there weren't any sexual harassment complaints filed in the 2004-05 academic year and none so far this academic year.
"Even though it hasn't been reported, it doesn't mean that it's not happening," Scott said.
While some may see sexual harassment as nothing serious or simply a joke, that may not always be the case.
"Continuous sexual harassment can be devastating to a person's self-image," said Brent Maulden, a doctorate student in experimental psychology. "Sooner or later they would feel that they weren't a real person and it would lower their self esteem."
While the emotional tolls on a person who is on the receiving end of the harassment can be devastating, the impact on the harasser can be just as damaging with the possibility of losing their job or, if a student, being expelled from The University.
"President Raines takes it seriously, I take it seriously," Banks said.
