THE PENDULUM
Volume 31, Issue 15
February 9, 2006
WWW.elon.edu/pendulum
"If it matters to you, it matters to
Date rape reported; Elon Police investigating
lessica Friyen
News Editor
An Elon student reported to police Monday
that she was taken to the hospital and traces of
drugs were found in her bloodstream after
spending time with four unknown men at West
End Bar on Wednesday, Feb. 1. -
The student, who was at West End from 11
p.m. to 2 a.m., had a few draft beers. When she
and the men came back to her apartment, her
roommate noticed that she was acting oddly
and made the men leave.
The next morning, the student didn’t
remember what occurred the night before. She
went to the hospital and doctors found traces of
amphetamines in her blood. On Monday, Feb.
6, the student told campus police that a form of
a date rape drug was placed in her drink
Wednesday night.
“The young lady came in to see me first,”
said Vickie MoeWman, sergeant of the investi
gations division. “Her mam concem was get
ting the news out to other students to prevent it
from happening again. There were four men
probably taking her home thinking her apart
ment was empty. She was very fortunate.”-
According to an e-mail sent to students and
staff, the men were described as college-aged.
Two of the men are white; one about 5’6” and
muscular, and the other taller. The other two
were described as large black men, with one
heavier set than the other.
Chuck Gantos, director of Campus Safety
and Police, acknowledged that this is a vague
description because the young lady didn’t have
any recollection of the night before, but he said
his team can work with what they were given.
“Usually if something hke this happens,
one of the men will end up having one too
many beers and start talkmg about it, he said
Gantos’ team wiU be looking for guys in
groups that match this description as well as
trying to figure out if the men are regulars at
the bars.
“Finding these guys will be a concentrated
effort,” he said. “When law enforcement fmds
out about situations like this, they get together
to work on it. It won’t just pass by.”
According to Moehlman, police and doc
tors think the men put ecstasy in her drink,
even though it’s not commonly used as a date
rape drug. She said she’s gathered an abun
dance of information about date rape and date
rape drugs through her own extensive reading
and researching.
Illustration by Alicia Krawczak
“One of the main things about ampheta
mines is that it messes with the ability to
remember and it lowers inhibitions,” she said.
“Along the lines of losing inhibitions, ecstasy
has the tendency to make you do things you
wouldn’t normally do. It’s a rave drug. People
tend to use it specifically to have euphoric,
physical feelings. You can imagine why it’s
called the love drug.”
Moehlman said she puts this knowledge to
use on her team as well as the university. Along
with having a lesson plan about date rape
drugs and what to expect that’s geared specifi
cally for police so the officers will be on top of
things, she also offers a PowerPomt presenta
tion to organizations and resident halls about
date rape drugs.
Leigh-Anne Royster, coordinator for
Personal Health Programs and Community
Well-being, contributes to sexual violence
awareness by going to different organizations
on campus to discuss rape and the myths and
facts of rape. Her program was implemented
last year, which underscores the urgency that
security has placed on sexual assault ofi Elon’s
campus.
Although the student was not a victim of
date rape, Gantos and Moehlman believe stu
dents should take extra precautions when
going to bars and drinking.
“Obviously, number one, you want to go
with people you know if you’re going to a
bar,” said Gantos.
He advises students to not to put their drink
down at any time and to keep theu' eyes on
anything they’re drinking, even if it’s non
alcoholic.
“I would suggest buying your own drinks
in a bottle or a can and preferably opening it
yourself or having someone beside you when
you buy and open it,” said Moehlman. “It
doesn’t matter if it’s alcohol or a soft drink, it
will have the same affects.”
She said that GHB, a synthetic, man-made
amphetamine, tastes salty, so students should
n’t drink anything that tastes or smells out of
the ordinary.
Gantos stressed the fact that students should
get tested for amphetamines within 24 hours if
they think they’ve been drugged.
The investigation was tumed over to the
Town of Elon Police after the student told cam
pus security.
Contact Jessica Frizen at
pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7248
FEATURES
p. 17
Meet an Elon student
volunteer firefighter,
Scott Muthersbaugh
ENTERTAINMENT
p. 24
“Brokeback Mountain”
proves to challenge a
viewer’s mind
SPORTS
p. 27
Men’s basketball
overconnes the statis
tics to lead in wins