Date rape
Continued from Page 1
when they start drinking and so
cializing, McCrae said.
“Watch your drink, don’t set it
down, ” he said. It only takes a sec
ond for a drink to be drugged.
Drinks can be also be drugged
while they are being held.
“If you’re drinking from a plas
tic cup it’s a lot easier to dose your
drink,” McCrae said. Drinks with
smaller openings, such as bottled
or canned beer, prevent people
from putting any thing in your
drink.
Other preventions include go
ing out with a friend or peer group
and then looking out for each oth
er. If you go together, leave togeth
er, he said.
“College students need to real
ize that alcohol was the original
date rape drug,” McCrae said.
Area bars are aware of the po
tential dangers of the date rape
drug and take steps to prevent
drinks being spiked.
“Be aware of where a drink is
coming from,” said Justin Walk
er, a manager at Taylor’s Bar and
Grille on 13th Avenue. “It should
come directly from the bar
tender.”
“We encourage people to keep
an eye on their drinks when they
go and dance,” he said.
Rohypnol isn’t the only date
rape drug to be aware of. Gamma
hydroxybutyrate (GHB), known
also as Grievous Bodily Harm or
Liquid Ecstasy, is a central ner
vous system depressant. It can
cause dizziness, nausea, confu
sion, seizures, respiratory depres
sion, intense drowsiness, uncon
sciousness and coma, McCrae
said.
According to a July, 1998 arti
cle in the Chronicle of Higher Ed
The Date Rape Drug
Whatyou can do to protect your
self:
Don’t leave your drink unattended
at the table or bar while you are
dancing, talking with friends or in
the bathroom.
Only drink from unopened bottles
and cans, or drinks that you’ve
seen poured.
Avoid "group” drinks. Punch bowls
or containers that are passed
around are easiest to drug.
What you can do to protect your
friends:
Watch each other’s drinks. If
someone gets up and leaves and
can’t take their drink, keep an eye
on it for them.
If your friend looks drunk or ready
to pass out, don’t assume “every
thing will be okay." Check to see if
they are OK.
If you came together, leave togeth
er. Don’t leave a friend behind.
If you see someone dosing some
one’s drink or hear about a
“drugged" punch bowl, confront
the behavior.
SOURCE: The Bacchus & Gamma
Peer Education Network.
www.bacchusgamma.org.
ucation, GHB can be used as a
cheap quick high. It played a role
in the deaths of at least five col
lege students across the country
since 1996. It was also found in
the blood of hundreds of students
who arrived in hospitals in a
coma.
“It’s helpful to know that these
drugs are in our culture,”
Dochnahl said. “It’s a good warn
ing and reminder that we should
be careful what we drink and who
we hang out with.”
Fines
Continued from Pagel
ants and landlords to keep social
gatherings under control.
Kate Ray, a sophomore romance
languages major, said there is a lot
of police action around her apart
ment in Duck’s Village on Friday
and Saturday nights.
"It seems [the ordinance] would
crack down on parties,” Ray said.
“We throw parties at our apart
ment, and if we got busted it
would suck to have to pay for the
police response.”
Hill said he hopes the ordi
nance will also relieve the finan
cial strain disorderly parties put
on the community.
“Tax payers are burdening the
cost for [breaking up disorderly
parties] and not the tenants or
landlords who are responsible,”
Hill said. “I don’t think the com
munity should pay for continuous
responses to parties.”
Hill said he supports charging peo
ple responsible for raucous parties,
but is uncertain about exactly who
should be held financially liable.
“The tenants are absolutely re
sponsible,” he said. “I do think there
is a responsibility for landlords, but
to what degree is up for discussion. ”
Property manager Benise
Poplin, who works for Steward
ship Property Management, said
the proposed ordinance is “ab
solutely absurd.” Because the
eviction process is long and diffi
cult, she said, landlords could be
fined multiple times.before they
could kick out a rowdy tenant.
“I don’t want my tenants to be
rowdy,” Poplin said. “I’m pretty
strict, but I don’t think I should be
held financially responsible.”
Jaylene Hulsey, who manages
Four Seasons Green Tree Apart
ments, said she worries that the ordi
nance would endanger landlords by
compelling them to break up out-of
control parties without the police.
“It’s part of our job to run a com
fortable community for our ten
ants, but landlords shouldn’t have
to be put in life-threatening posi
tions,” Hulsey said. “The police
get paid to put their life on the line.
They’re packing a gun. I’m not.”
The City Council will discuss the
ordinance within two weeks and
will hold a public forum on the is
sue, Councilman Gary Rayor said.
The Rental Owners Association of
Lane County will work with the city
to revise the ordinance to fit the
needs of both police and landlords,
said Norton Cabell, who serves on
the association’s board of directors.
Cabell said disorderly partying is
a legitimate problem that needs to
be addressed, but feels that the ordi
nance is an overly-simplistic solu
tion because landlords don’t have
much legal power over tenants.
ASUO Legal Services Director
Ilona Koleszar said she worries that
the ordinance “is a way to force own
ers to evict people...and could make
the neighbor judge and jury. ”
Koleszar pointed out that police
respond to parties after receiving
complaints. She said that neigh
bors holding grudges against ten
ants could call police every time
the renter hosts a party, whether
or not it is disorderly. The effect
could be costly fines or even evic
tion for the tenant.
Gilliam said the ordinance would
be strong deterrent and rarely en
forced. He said that police have visit
ed less than 10 houses and only a
few taverns more than twice within
60 days this year.
Both Gilliam and Hill said the
ordinance would act in tandem
with EPD’s projects aimed at pre
venting disorderly parties.
Hill said that the EPD will contin
ue to plan with the University “alter
native events for people to attend
rather than going to parties and us
ing alcohol for entertainment. ”
“We need to decouple fun and
alcohol,” Hill said.
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