For nearly 1,800 students, Warren Towers is home. This weekend, when report of a sexual assault made its way around Warren, the shock of an attack on campus was intensified: Not only on streets or in private rooms, but in a place as common, unavoidable and supposedly safe as the floor bathroom, one of the worst crimes could be committed. After only four weeks in their new residence — usually the first time away from home for the freshmen in Warren Towers — residents may feel their boundaries violated by reports of an apparently random and atrocious crime.

Reports of sexual assault are difficult for everyone at Boston University to take in.

Students, resident assistants, security guards and administrators face an uncomfortable and emotionally trying situation for the investigation. For freshmen who live in Warren Towers, this incident may permanently alter their experiences in a place where students instinctively lower inhibitions and break boundaries in the name of making fast friends with floormates. This incident brings an uncomfortable truth to the forefront of dorm residents’ lives: Sexual predators can be BU students or guests, and communal living makes complete protection from assault impossible.

However, for better or worse, very few incidents occur in Warren Towers without residents hearing rumors or knowing someone involved. An attack of this nature in a shared area could only in rare circumstance go without any notice, even in the middle of the night. Sounds and voices travel far and echo loudly on floors, and every person in Warren has a connection to someone else — roommate, friend, neighbor or floormate. Even non-BU visitors must be signed into the building by a resident.

Residents who believe they have information related to the attack should contact the BU Police Department immediately. Offered anonymity and confidentiality, informants can drive a successful investigation. Any student hesitant to come forth with information, believing his or her memory is wrong or a new friend matching the vague description released by the BUPD simply could not be an attacker, should come forth with the knowledge. Questioning an innocent bystander can only be an inconvenience; failing to report tips and leads to police results in a stalled investigation and — most disturbingly — a possibly continued unsafe environment for students.

Coming forward to report a sexual assault requires courage on the victim’s part. By reporting the Sunday morning attack, the alleged victim initiated an investigation that may result in the arrest of the attacker — and increased safety for other students living in Warren Towers. Those who live at Warren should respect the victim of this reported crime and their neighbors by working toward identifying any suspects and preempting future attacks.

The administration has taken the right stance on the case. By bringing together the highest-ranking university officials — vice presidents, deans and police chiefs whom many students never saw before last night — the school has shown it is serious about carrying out a full, responsible investigation of this reported attack. By meeting with students on a Sunday evening, administrators are letting the students whose home was violated know an email is not a sufficient answer to a serious crime.

Warren Towers residents may not yet understand the strength of their community. The shared experience of living in a large dorm can bring together people in good times, but also in times of fear and sadness. Warren residents must answer investigators’ calls for information. Administrators, investigators and residents must make sure Warren Towers is a home for hundreds of students, not a place to live in fear of crime.