A party thrown in mid-September by the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which led to three hospitalizations and one arrest, has landed the chapter in hot water as authorities question whether date-rape drugs were involved.
Police reported that at least four students were vomiting and barely able to stand in one of UWM’s residence halls on the night of the party. The three female students had red X’s marked on their hands at the frat house, while the fourth male student had a black X marked on his, according to court documents cited by the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. It's believed that the male student drank from one of the female students' cups.
One of the students told police that the X’s were marked on their hands as a sign of entry to the party, though it was also reported by one of the hospitalized women that “'you have to be hot' to get a special card to get free drinks."According to Newsweek, one of the women told police she had “a weird feeling or sensation” before blacking out. While searching the house, UWM Police confiscated plastic cups, glasses, alcohol, bongs and other drug paraphernalia, local radio station WTMJ reported.
Though it’s not clear whether they have found evidence of date-rape drug usage yet, student testimonies lead us to believe it that may have been a possibility. Police followed up with the women who were heavily intoxicated and one told officers that she remembered “a fraternity member got upset when she went behind the bar to pour drinks and was physically removed,” according to the same court documents.
In the meantime, the university has suspended the Zeta-Zeta chapter of the organization, as authorities continue to investigate.
Today UWM suspended the TKE fraternity on an interim basis while police conduct their investigation. Safety of our students is our (1/2)
— UW-Milwaukee (@UWM) September 19, 2014
Number one priority. Our police are aggressively pursuing this investigation to determine what happened & who may have been involved. (2/2)
— UW-Milwaukee (@UWM) September 19, 2014
Whether date-rape drugs were used remains to be seen, but it’s clear that this incident comes at a disturbing time where drug-facilitated sexual assaults are occurring at campuses all across the country. With recent crackdowns on fraternities at other schools and the recent bill that requires active consent on college campuses in California, we can only hope that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee continues to approach this issue with respect and concern for its students' safety.