Opinion: College students must look out for one another as druggings and safety risks persist
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Drugging is nothing new in the Greek life community. Every woman hears the same protocol: never take drinks from strangers and cover your open containers. And don’t even think twice about the jungle juice.
One could say roofieing is embedded within the community. After all, an estimated 8% of college students reported being unknowingly drugged and later assaulted, according to the Psychology of Violence journal. Yet it’s always disheartening to hear when it comes to your own college campus.
In January and February, the University of Oregon encountered numerous drugging instances in its fraternities. Three chapters — Theta Chi, Delta Sigma and Phi Delta Theta — faced alleged drugging accusations, were investigated and were put on interim suspension.
One of the druggings happened on Jan. 19. A Eugene police officer found two women on the corner of East 19th Avenue and Onyx Street, clearly “out of it,” he reported.
In a UOPD report, the officer went on to say the students were “possibly drugged while attending a party at a fraternity.” Further evidence found that all of the allegations were pointing toward these students being “roofied,” according to Eugene Weekly’s reporting.
The UO Safety and Wellness Board just announced that Rohypnol, the commonly known “roofie” drug, was not detected. Instead, gamma-hydroxybutyrate and ketamine were present.
The three fraternities were temporarily suspended while the Dean of Students conducted an investigation. This prohibited members of the fraternities from hosting any events with alcohol, as well as other events such as recruitment, new members and service.
Following the suspension, each fraternity could petition for exceptions. Phi Delt received an exception for Dad’s Weekend in March, with attendees strictly consisting of brothers and family members.
Theta Chi also contested in their preliminary meeting, claiming “the chapter does not pose a threat to the community,” according to Dianne Tanjuaquio, the Associate Dean of Students.
The chapter received numerous exceptions to the suspension. But in terms of philanthropy and service events, Tanjuaquio said they would be considered on a “case-to-case basis.”
The suspension against all fraternity social events was lifted on April 15.
The Interfraternity Council shared its thoughts on the suspension. In a written statement to the Daily Emerald, the IFC president said the board has “developed a standard new member presentation on party safety and alcohol use, an in-depth sober monitor training and a detailed guest list system.”
IFC believes improving community education on these topics will improve overall safety for attendees.
“It is important for all students to be aware of their surroundings when attending parties and for everyone to look out for their fellow peers,” the IFC president said.
Overall, any action at all against drugging is favorable. Too many cases go untold or are silenced. So, it is crucial for the Dean of Students and Fraternity and Sorority Life to hold these chapters accountable.
However, the dynamic of druggings and suspensions in Greek Life is not straightforward. It’s a complex issue with many benefits and pitfalls.
Like I said before, the connection between frat boys and roofieing is nothing new. It’s built into the culture. During my freshman year, there was a similar instance. Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosted a party and around a dozen women were drugged.
Unlike the three aforementioned fraternities, SAE didn’t want to undergo an entire investigation. Instead, they decided to disaffiliate from UO, meaning they are no longer registered as a UO fraternity. This raises numerous concerns.
When a fraternity is disaffiliated from the university, it becomes free-range — the only higher-ups holding SAE accountable are the police department. They receive no education on sexual violence and prevention, allowing them to act freely with little consequence. There are also two other unaffiliated frats in Eugene: Alpha Sigma Phi and Kappa Sigma.
So yes, suspending fraternities for drugging instances is important, but it also pushes college women to attend unaffiliated frats’ events and parties where the risk of roofieing and assault is just as probable.
Cameryn Salinas, a UO third-year, reflected on the dangers of disaffiliated fraternity events.
Two years ago, a friend of Salinas was drugged at a SAE party after the frat had disaffiliated. The young woman had numerous friends in the organization and felt safe attending their events.
Unfortunately, just because you know one member doesn’t mean you can trust the chapter. Salinas’ friend was served her first drink at the event’s “open bar.” She immediately felt off and a peer took her to the PeaceHealth emergency room. She was drugged.
“If it’s your best friend and he’s in this frat and you’ve known him for 20 years, I still wouldn’t trust it,” Salinas said. “You don’t know who had the drink before him or who poured it.”
According to Salinas, the friend never attended another frat party after that night. Aside from her boyfriend’s parties, Salinas also stayed away from other fraternities.
“You have to assume the worst,” Salinas said. “The best thing that can happen to you at a frat party is nothing happens at all.”
Outsiders might rebut by saying not to attend frat parties. Not only is this unfair, but it puts the blame on victims rather than the fraternity’s members. Like Salinas said, “People want to experience that college experience.” It’s not their fault.
As a fourth-year student approaching graduation, I can reflect on my “frat era.” I was a naive 19-year-old. There were times I was smart, while in other moments, I thank god nothing happened to me.
I followed the buddy system. I went with a group of friends and always left with them. I brought my own drinks and covered the opening. Current college students have learned drink etiquette through the experiences of older generations.
Yet, with alcohol consumption comes vulnerability and bad decision-making. Running up and down the frat halls alone? Not safe. Chatting with fraternity brothers in their secluded rooms? VERY unsafe.
Greek Life and fraternity parties played a huge part in my college experience. But now that I’m older and looking back, there were things I could’ve done differently. Here’s my biggest advice: these men are not your friends. Drugging can happen to anyone — no matter who you know.
The transition from fraternity parties to the bar scene is another time when drinking safety becomes invaluable. Rennie’s Landing is a college bar located on Kincaid Street right by campus. The workers recognize their crowd is young and new to public drinking, and thus they are vulnerable.
Bar manager Holly Caswell said she keeps an eye out for people’s level of intoxication. Throughout the night, she’ll observe how people are interacting.
Why is this man alone and approaching different groups of people? This girl is falling over — does she have a friend who can walk her home? Why does this man only want to buy pretty girls drinks?
To reduce the chances of drugging, Rennie’s staff removes drinks that are left alone. Experienced adults would never take a full drink sitting on a table. For young drinkers, it’s a coin flip.
“A lot of people coming to Rennie’s are new and would maybe [say] like ‘Oh woah, free drink,’ and drink it,” Caswell said. “But what if something was put into it?”
If “somebody calls us a few days later saying they had a drink and blacked out after,” Rennie’s management will “go and review cameras to see if anything happened to their drink,” Caswell said.
Despite the recent fraternity druggings, the college bar hasn’t come across any incidents. Yet Caswell has worked in the bar scene for years and acknowledges it’s an ongoing issue.
“The goal is to have a good time and make good memories,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are people out there who will take advantage of you in moments when you have your guard down.”
Most date-rape drugs have no taste, no scent and no color, according to Caswell. She advises having your drink on you at all times. Even letting someone sip your drink is a no-go. Druggers are now hiding substances in their mouth and spitting them into drinks.
Caswell, along with the other college bar owners in the area, wants young drinkers to have a good experience. If you ever need your drink watched, they have your back. Yet there is only so much our favorite bouncers can do.
Roofieing is a part of our reality. No matter how many suspensions and police calls we make, there’s always going to be that one bad apple. It’s on the community to look out for one another and stay safe. An early night home is always better than falling into the wrong hands.
“Be a good friend and treat her like a sister,” Caswell said.
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