Students at James Madison University are taking an active approach to cut down on violence, both on campus and off.

The Madison Debate Society hosted a forum Wednesday night where students could speak openly with a local prosecutor.

It was an honest back and forth at JMU with underage students admitting to drinking irresponsibly and the assistant Commonwealth's Attorney saying they sometimes are too tough.

Both parties really tried to understand each other and find common ground.

Chris Mauthe has been at JMU for two years, which has been enough time to see off campus violence take place. Now he's trying to learn more about safety.

"I didn't even know that Safe Rides went off campus personally, and also that the police don't somewhat try to crack down on the students and give them their space," says Mauthe.

The exchange brought together Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Louis Nagy and students.

"One of the things we've heard, that I've heard here today, is that sometimes students feel intimidated or afraid to call the police in situations where they probably should contact police," says Nagy.

However police say they need to hear about potentially dangerous situations to prevent tragedies, such as the recent death of Shay Nicholson at an off-campus party.

"They have to be responsible to know that if there is a shady individual or someone that could potentially cause problems that they need to ask that person to leave," adds Mauthe.

Still, it's not all parties. During Spring Break, more than a dozen student apartments were broken into as part of what police called a gang initiation.

"Personally, when I leave, I don't leave anything of value to me here," says Tory Federwish of the Madison Debate Society. "Do you really think about where you're going, do you think about locking your apartment? Do you think about small things you do to make your life safer?"

Nagy said that he would be relaying students' concerns back to law enforcement.