The Rocky Mountain Collegian

A troubling statistic concerning Saint Louis University students has increased this academic year. The number of date rapes involving SLU female students is at an all-time high, with 10 thus far, according to counselor Mark Pousson of the Student Heath Center.

"What is scary is that many more go unreported," Pousson said.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, an estimated five percent of college-aged women will experience an attempted or completed rape in any given year.

All instances occurred off campus, and if is not known if the males involved were students.

Jack Titone, director of Public Safety, said that there was only one reported sexual assault in 2004, and no documentation of any date rape drugs on campus in the past five years. The numbers reported to DPS and the Health Center differ because some women may confide to a counselor, but not necessarily report to DPS, or press criminal charges. In fact very few, if any, women involved in date rapes are able to recall the identity of the attacker.

"The sense of disempowerment that results can inhibit a person in many ways," Pousson said.

Although Pousson said alcohol is still the most common date rape drug, others, colorless and odorless, such as Rohypnol and Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB) are much more potent, putting a person in a catatonic state that does not wear off for four to six hours.

This catatonic state results in some women, although not in the SLU-related instances, to drift in and out of consciousness during a rape, but be unable to move or speak.

"The best defense is to have friends who know your drinking history," Pousson said. For example, recognizing that someone is out if control after one drink, when it usually takes X amount of drinks, is a surefire warning sign.

Alarmingly, a vial of GHB can be purchased for $10 or less on the street in St. Louis, Pousson said.

"Never, ever, leave a drink unattended," Titone said. "You never know who will put something in it."

"Water bottles are not exempt," Pousson said. Any liquid, such as GHB, can be added undetected to sealed bottled water with a sports drink-like pop-top.

Pousson urges any student with any information concerning the 10 date rapes involving SLU female students to report it, even anonymously. Alcohol education sessions are held the first and third Mondays of each month in room 353 of the Busch Student Center at 7 p.m. Discussions of date rape drugs are usually included, and all students are welcome to attend.

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