Another Drugging Reported at Whitman Party
Illustration by Claire Revere.
April 9, 2017
Another Whitman student reported unknowingly ingesting dissociative “date rape” drugs on Saturday night. The drugging reportedly occurred at an all-campus party at the Sigma Chi fraternity house.
The incident comes on the heels of a similar string of dissociative druggings late last semester, where a series of students were drugged over the course of two weekends.
The party followed the recently-revamped Greek social policy closely: students were required to show their Whitman IDs at all doors, six “sober roamers” monitored the party throughout the night, all alcohol was distributed by sober bartenders, and Whitman Security was present outside the house. While the culprit is still unknown, the presence of such precautions strongly suggests that it was a Whitman student.
VP of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland alerted the campus to the reported drugging through an email on Sunday morning. The “Timely Warning” email, a common method of sharing information with the student body, stated, “The student was taken to the hospital for treatment and was tested for common drugging agents.” As reported in The Wire last fall, significant challenges accompany testing for dissociative drugs.
Cleveland’s email indicated that the police will investigate the most recent suspected drugging. He concluded: “Drugging someone without their consent is assault and the College will treat it as such.”
Panhellenic Council President Molly Unsworth released the following statement late Sunday night.
“As members of Greek organizations and of the Whitman community, the Whitman Greek system has zero tolerance for the perpetuation or knowledge of these crimes and urges anyone with further information to reach out to Whitman or the WWPD. Over the next few days, we will continue working alongside the administration as part of the on-going investigation, and will provide further updates regarding the specific changes we are making later this week.”
Cleveland’s email reminded the Whitman campus of the resources available to victims or anyone with information about the situation.
“If you have any information that would be helpful to share with Whitman or the Walla Walla Police department, please call Chalese Rabidue (Domestic Violence Victims Advocate, 509.527.4434) or Juli Dunn ([email protected], 509.301.6824). If you need confidential support, please call either the Counseling Center (509.527.5195), the Health Center (509.527.5281), or Hailey Powers (Sexual Assault Victims Advocate, [email protected], 509.526.3032). If you would like to report anonymously, please do so through the online portal (http://whitman.edu/assist).”
The Wire will continue to update this article as more information arises. Please visit our Contact Us page to get in touch with the Editors of The Wire.
Sarah • Apr 13, 2017 at 4:35 pm
While the party was at the Sigma Chi house, it is important to note that the party was hosted by the women’s fraternity Delta Gamma. Though Delta Gamma used ID checkers, only letting Whitman students into the party, had bartenders for all alcohol served, and had a number of sober individuals making rounds at the party, the drugging still occurred. This is truly a campus-wide issue, having previously occurred at the other fraternity chapters last semester despite safety measures.
Wayne Silzel Whitman '58 • Apr 13, 2017 at 10:15 am
I am sadly disappointed in my fraternity chapter for having hosted an event of this type. I can assure all that this behavior is not in keeping with the high standards of our Fraternity. Whitman did not permit alcohol on campus prior to and during my four years there. Drug use was associated with low-life losers that represented the worst of society. We weren’t “T-Totalers” and its off campus use was tolerated in moderation. I’m relieved to know my grandchildren are attending an excellent small liberal arts college whose Administration has wisely maintained a “no alcohol on campus” policy and continues to attract many more applicants than they can accommodate.
Wayne Silzel, Life Loyal Sig