2008 Woodie Awards
Student reports possible drugged drink on campus
By: Christine Digangi
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: News
A student approached Public Safety, concerned about consuming a drink that may have been drugged and a delayed report was made on Jan. 5, Director of Public Safety Angela Nally said, keeping the gender of the alleged victim confidential. The alleged assault occurred in early September of last year.
The possibility of a drugged drink was plausible, because the victim experienced memory loss, Nally said. However, due to the memory loss, it is not possible to say whether an assault occurred. The delay in reporting the event also made testing and investigation impossible, Nally said.
The delayed report was released Jan. 7, 2008, on the Timely Warning page of the Public Safety Web site. Timely warnings are released as a requirement under the Department of Education's Jean Anne Clery Act, which requires the University to send out a report if there is a threat to the general public, Nally said.
Even though this type of assault is uncommon at DePauw, Nally said she wanted to give the information to the community in case anyone else experienced a similar event around the same time as the alleged assault. If so, she said she hopes anyone with information will come forward in order to help Public Safety further investigate the incident.
"We don't want students to be oblivious or paranoid, just aware," Nally said.
With freshmen allowed on greek property this week, Nally provided some tips for social safety, including knowing where one's drink comes from, never setting a drink down and never taking a drink from a common container. She said these are opportune times for a drug to be slipped in a drink. Both genders should be aware that sexual assault and robbery can be results, she said.
Public Safety, Sexual Assault Survivor's Advocate and Health Services are the campus resources Nally suggests for anyone inolved in similar situations.
The possibility of a drugged drink was plausible, because the victim experienced memory loss, Nally said. However, due to the memory loss, it is not possible to say whether an assault occurred. The delay in reporting the event also made testing and investigation impossible, Nally said.
The delayed report was released Jan. 7, 2008, on the Timely Warning page of the Public Safety Web site. Timely warnings are released as a requirement under the Department of Education's Jean Anne Clery Act, which requires the University to send out a report if there is a threat to the general public, Nally said.
Even though this type of assault is uncommon at DePauw, Nally said she wanted to give the information to the community in case anyone else experienced a similar event around the same time as the alleged assault. If so, she said she hopes anyone with information will come forward in order to help Public Safety further investigate the incident.
"We don't want students to be oblivious or paranoid, just aware," Nally said.
With freshmen allowed on greek property this week, Nally provided some tips for social safety, including knowing where one's drink comes from, never setting a drink down and never taking a drink from a common container. She said these are opportune times for a drug to be slipped in a drink. Both genders should be aware that sexual assault and robbery can be results, she said.
Public Safety, Sexual Assault Survivor's Advocate and Health Services are the campus resources Nally suggests for anyone inolved in similar situations.
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