A party was thrown about 30 miles from Central Washington University this past weekend in Roslyn, Washington. 9 students were rushed to a hospital due to what is suspected to be alcohol spiked with a drug (many suspect a “date rape” drug was involved).
Our hearts go out to the students effected and to the many wonderful people at Central Washington University who we have been blessed to work with.
One aspect which needs to be discussed is what is currently being reported by news mediums. Here are concerning factors which have been reported (we are summarizing based off multiple media sources):
1) Read the following report from the Yakima Herald:
A Kittitas County sheriff’s deputy reported seeing a man performing a sex act on his semi-conscious girlfriend. The man was not arrested, but the incident remains under investigation because of the woman’s possible inability to consent.
If she was semi-conscious, she would have NO ABILITY TO CONSENT (by the laws of almost every state in the USA). Do police departments release a rapist they catch in the act of a sexual assault? The typical answer is “NO” which leaves the impression that somehow the sexual assault in this case wasn’t as “serious” or criminal because he was a boyfriend. Unacceptable. The officers walked into the room and VISUALLY SAW what was occurring. That kind of police evidence rarely occurs. Do not get me wrong. Police officers across the country have my support because they do vital work in helping convict predators. In this case, the authorities need to take a much stronger stance (the correct stance).
2) Debates are abound on whether the students who were drugged will be charged with underage drinking. Across the country on many campuses, they have a policy that if someone drugs you while you are drinking, you will NOT BE CHARGED with underage drinking when you seek help or receive medical aid. The reason this policy is important is because you want to ENCOURAGE students to seek medical help (not deter them). In the case of sexual assaults, you never want a sexual assault survivor to fear being charged with a crime and thus not come forward.
Keep an eye on this case and see if news outlets and/or media sources discuss this elements of the party. Leave your comments below!