PALO ALTO — In a sophisticated and revealing package of stories, Palo Alto High’s Verde magazine staff has examined what it calls the “rape culture” on campus and in the broader community.

High-profile rape cases from Ohio to India prompted senior Lisie Sabbag to look into local cases. The resulting stories and opinion pieces, published last week, just days before a story emerged about an alleged incident of sexual battery involving Saratoga High students, have grabbed national attention. It’s not only the topic. The package is being hailed as thoughtful, sensitive — and disturbing. Students don’t clearly understand what constitutes rape, Sabbag’s story makes clear. Yet rape is not so rare, and sometimes the response of victims’ friends and families turns into a second assault.

“They did an exceptional job,” said Deirdre Stoelzle Graves of the Ochberg Society for Trauma Journalism, which consulted with Verde on the stories. “Those students did a huge feat in trying to report with such an emphasis on compassion and empathy.”

Sabbag heard the stories of 10 student survivors of date rape and profiled two. The story expanded into a wider 12-week project of multiple pieces involving 10 staff members.

“A lot of people on our staff were really passionate about it,” said senior Sharon Tseng, one of Verde’s three co-editors-in-chief.

The stories not only explored the damage and drama of rape, but also illustrated that teens and adults understand rape differently. That’s partly because teens don’t understand rape, Sabbag said, even though many experience rape: “It’s something that’s real and happens to friends at parties,” she told the Ochberg Society.

But worse than the assaults recounted, in a park and in a car, were the reactions of friends. Instead of sympathy, the victims found blame. A victim who reported her assault wishes she hadn’t.

The magazine polled 250 students and found that more than one-quarter said that if a woman willingly gets drunk, she’s responsible for what happens. “That’s what stupid girls do at that age — they dress up slutty and get drunk and accidentally have sex because that’s what people do; that’s what they’ve been told fun is,'” one survivor said. “‘It happens, so it’s not necessarily a big deal.'”

Nearly two-thirds of those polled agreed that women who flirt, tease or behave promiscuously are more likely to get raped.

The package has generated discussion among students, which Tseng said was the staff’s goal. An introductory editor’s note warned that the content might pull an emotional trigger for some readers, and that the focus was on rape culture, not on particular individuals.

Before publication, journalism adviser Paul Kandell notified administrators, counselors and fellow teachers about the stories, and asked that they check in with students who may be sensitive to the topic.

“I’m proud of what the students did,” said Palo Alto school board President Dana Tom. “I’m disappointed that it was necessary.”

Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775. Follow her at Twitter.com/noguchionk12.