A report by the America Association of University Women revealed that one in four college students have been sexually harassed in one form or another, but students at Boston University say they doubt the accuracy of the numbers.

College of Communication junior Stacy Chamberlain said a lot of people have a hard time defining what sexual harassment is and therefore do not report it when it occurs.

“I do think a lot of people are sexually harassed,” she said. “Whether they know it or not, I think a lot of people let things slide, so I’d say the numbers are probably higher than one in four.”

The AAUW defines sexual harassment as any “unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior which interferes with your life,” but many students say even this definition is too broad.

College of General Studies sophomore Evyn Cameron said depending on how someone defines sexual harassment, the numbers may be higher or lower.

“If it is extremely serious,” she said, “like someone touching you inappropriately or being really flirty, then I guess one in four is right. But if someone is drunk at a bar and says ‘hey baby’ the wrong way, then I think it is low.”

BU spokesman Colin Riley said there is a marked difference between sexual harassment and harassment in general, but what matters is how the victim deals with the situation.

“Reporting is necessary,” he said. “If we could get more people reporting it, we could reduce the number exponentially. Each time the person doesn’t report it, it just gets worse.”

Although Riley emphasized the importance of reporting incidents, students say they do not know how the process works.

“Everyone should have the BU number on the speed dial of their cell phone,” he said. “Or go to one of the blue boxes on campus and report it immediately. If you do that, you are doing yourself and everyone else a service.”

College of Arts and Sciences senior Todd Katz said he would probably not report a sexual harassment case, but said if he wanted to he would not know where to go.

“If I were sexually harassed,” he said, “I would confront the situation myself instead of going somewhere and reporting it. I know I could probably go to Mental Health Services, but it’s different for a guy than a girl. A girl would probably be more willing to go there than a guy.”

Although most students say they do not know what BU’s policies are, the Office of Human Resources has its own definition of the term and a procedure to follow if the policy is violated.

According to the Equal Opportunity clause in the personnel policy manual, sexual harassment is defined as “sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, whether intentional or unintentional.”

According to Riley, there have been only four sexual harassment complaints during the current academic year.