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# Podcast: Understanding Sexual Assault, Harassment At Iowa Colleges
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/podcast-understanding-sexual-assault-harassment-at-iowa-colleges/
- Published: 2018-05-14T14:00:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T02:39:57.000Z
- Description: Many colleges in Iowa are seeing fluctuating numbers of reports in instances of sexual assault on their campuses, a spring 2018 IowaWatch/Simpson College journalism project showed. This podcast explores why that could be a problem.
- Author: Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Criminal Justice, iowawatch, college life, college sex assault, Drake University, Loras College, sex assault awareness, Sexual Assault, Simpson College, University of Dubuque, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

Many colleges in Iowa are seeing fluctuating numbers of reports in instances of sexual assault on their campuses, a spring 2018 [IowaWatch/Simpson College journalism project](https://investigatemidwest.org/tying-sex-assault-prevention-programs-at-iowa-colleges-difficult-without-clear-data/?ref=investigatemidwest.org) showed.

However, officials interviewed at Iowa colleges and universities said they have no way to track what drives the statistics. That means

colleges and universities in Iowa struggle to measure how effective these initiatives are on their campuses, d espite faculty and staff efforts to educate students about sexual assault prevention and reporting. This podcast explores the problem, and what college officials a team of graduating journalism students at Simpson interviewed for IowaWatch said needs to be done about it. 

#### About This Report

This story is the result of an IowaWatch/Simpson College journalism seminar collaboration featuring reporting by:

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/d3/cdd3c059-8898-40b1-bcf7-cb2d3aa89775/content/images/2026/09/unnamed-1-copy-2.jpg)

**Temesha Derby**, 20, from Grinnell

, Iowa, who graduated with a major in m ultimedia journalism and minors in so 

ciology and English.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/d3/cdd3c059-8898-40b1-bcf7-cb2d3aa89775/content/images/2026/09/IMG_7245-2-948x950.jpg)

**Britteny Johnson,** 21, from Crescent, Iowa, who graduated with a double major in multimedia communication and theatre arts.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/d3/cdd3c059-8898-40b1-bcf7-cb2d3aa89775/content/images/2026/09/IMG_1844-950x950.jpg)

**Laura Wiersema,** 21, from Fulton, Illinois, who graduated with a major in multimedia journalism and a minor in art.

The journalists started work on this project in January 2018 with Lyle Muller of IowaWatch and Mark Siebert, Simpson assistant professor of multimedia communication. Jeff Stein is the producer and host of the IowaWatch Connection radio program.