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...
A criminal investigation is currently underway after multiple Whitman students reported that they exhibited symptoms consistent with unknowingly ingesting dissociative drugs over the last two weekends. On the morning of November 7, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland sent a “Timely Warning” email alerting the Whitman community to the suspected druggings. In the email, Cleveland indicated that the police would begin interviewing any who are familiar with the situation or suspect they may have been drugged.
Testing for any dissociative drugs, such as ketamine (“Special K”), gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and rohypnol (“roofies”), is particularly challenging because the drugs have a very short half-life, meaning they quickly leave the body. If an individual thinks they may have been drugged, then they would need to be tested within a few hours of ingesting the drug or it will not show up in the test results.
On the morning of Monday, Nov. 7, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland sent a “Timely Warning” email to the Whitman community alerting students, faculty, staff and parents of suspected druggings. Cleveland’s email noted that there were a “number of students who demonstrated symptoms that suggested they may have been drugged at parties” on the north side of Boyer Avenue on Saturday, Nov. 5. He also wrote that the incidents may be related to an anonymous report from the previous week.
According to anonymous reports, at least ten women who attended separate parties over the last two weekends showed signs consistent with unknowingly ingesting dissociative drugs commonly known as date rape drugs. Reports vary, and many were not tested for these types of drugs even when they visited the emergency room.
