The university has issued warnings concerning reported sexual assault or sexual violence incidents in campus housing since the fall semester began, according to its Fall 2026 safety FAQ published on its website this week.

The university said the first four cases occurred independently and were not related. The people involved in those cases knew each other, while the fifth case remains in the early stages of investigation.

University officials said the recent incidents do not indicate the presence of a serial attacker. Individual suspects have been identified in the cases investigated so far, and the incidents were determined to have occurred in private living spaces, according to the university.

Cal State San Marcos President Ellen J. Neufeldt released a video Sept. 23 responding to reports of four rapes on campus and a fifth incident in which a student reported being fondled by a burglar in her dorm room.

She encouraged students to contact campus police if they notice an area that needs more security.

"Our police, housing staff and Title IX staff are ready and willing to help and are already in action," she said. "This may be something that happens across our nation on college campuses but we are never going to say it’s OK."

The Coast News previously reported on the four rapes occuring at the university campus between Sept. 5 and 18.

The four reported rapes occurred Sept. 5 at The Quad, Sept. 6 at University Village Apartments, Sept. 13 at Black Oak Hall and Sept. 18, also at The Quad.

The university then sent a campuswide text alert warning that another student had reported being fondled Sept. 21, it said.

All five cases are under investigation. The university said it is limited in what it can disclose about individual suspects or case status because of ongoing investigations and survivor privacy.

The Quad residential complex on the campus of California State University San Marcos, U.S. Photo from the university's website

University spokesperson Jerry McCormick told The Coast News that the incidents occurred during a period known as the "Red Zone," a time of the school year when sexual assaults are likely to happen as new students experience campus life.

"The first six weeks of the fall semester at universities across the nation are often called the ‘Red Zone,’ when the risk of campus sexual violence is elevated. Because the beginning of the academic year can be a particularly vulnerable time for students, CSUSM begins prevention and consent education before students arrive on campus and continues those efforts throughout the year through bystander-intervention training, confidential advocate services, and campus resource awareness," he said.

In its Fall 2026 safety FAQ, the university said it has increased University Police patrols in and around residential areas and added overnight security. It has also increased sexual violence prevention and education for residential students.

North Commons and Black Oak Hall now have 24-hour front-desk staffing, including guest registration. The university has also restricted exterior doors at the two buildings to exit-only, except at their main entrances. Existing access-control measures requiring cards or keys for gates, building entrances and individual apartments or bedrooms remain in place.

The school, which has about 17,000 students, has now issued a flyer titled "How do I help someone involved in a sexual assault incident?" featuring a cartoon cat.

It said all incoming students must complete online Title IX training, while first-year residential students must attend in-person sexual violence and bystander training. The university also provides continuing education on consent, bystander intervention, alcohol-related decision-making and available support services.

However, some students say they do not feel adequately protected.

The New York Post highlighted students’ concerns about campus safety, saying some students have begun carrying pepper spray and avoiding walking alone, particularly at night.

A student-led petition is calling for increased security in areas including parking lots, the Quad and poorly lit parts of campus.

Megan Chavez, a literature and writing student at CSUSM, said she does not believe the school’s action plan to prevent sexual assaults and warn students about the "Red Zone" has been enough.

Chavez, 25, said she first encountered the phrase while completing the university’s mandatory Title IX training, which she described to the California Post as "glitchy and difficult to navigate."

"Everything around keeping students safe and everything around teaching consent, affirmative consent and preventing sexual violence, it just feels super disorganized," she said. She also took issue with the cartoon cat used on a flyer with such a serious message.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Nohemi Escano told The New York Post that: "It’s important to notice and to highlight that we as students have the right to have fun, to not be sober, and still be safe."

"I’m tired of hearing people say, "Well, maybe they were drunk, maybe they were high, maybe they were not sober. People have the right to have fun and be safe," she added.