A Drake University first-year student was reportedly sexually assaulted Saturday night, shortly after leaving the Dublin bar, according to a Des Moines police report.
After a Des Moines police officer made contact with the 18-year-old victim at Mercy West hospital, she said another Drake student sexually assaulted her.
The case report states the victim and two friends went to a fraternity party at the Sigma Chi house at 3212 Forest Ave.
“She stated that while she was there, her and her friends had 3-4 hard mixed drinks,” according to the report. “She says she noticed the alcohol affected her more than usual and her friends stated they noticed the same effects.”
Following Sigma Chi, they then walked to the Dublin bar at 2307 University Ave., where the victim started dancing with the unknown white male suspect. She left the bar with the suspect to his apartment on 3000 block of Cottage Grove Ave.
“(She) stated that when they arrived at the suspect’s apartment, he became physical with her by touching her and trying to remove her clothing,” the report states. “He stated several times to her, ‘You should take off your pants,’ and made numerous comments about wanting to have sex with her.”
The report said she remembers telling the suspect, “No,” multiple times, but the suspect eventually removed her clothing. She said she remembered the suspect putting on a condom, but she said she was intoxicated enough that she couldn’t remember all of the details. When she woke up at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, she didn’t have any clothing on. The victim then walked back to her residence hall between 6:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. The suspect walked with her part of the way, according to the report.
No suspects have been charged yet.
Hans Hanson, director of campus security, said that although he cannot comment on this case, as it happened off campus, he said he is working with the dean of student’s office.
Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari’s office distributed a pamphlet to Residence Life mid-October entitled “Understanding Sexual Assault.” Inside, it said, “Sexual assault, perpetrated by a student is punishable by sanctions up to and including expulsion from the university.”
President David Maxwell released the following statement this afternoon:
“The abuse and misuse of alcohol is the single biggest issue for student affairs in higher education across the country. It is a national epidemic, fueled by the fact that a sizable proportion of high school students self-report that they engage in binge drinking on a regular basis. The biggest concern, of course, is not simply the use of alcohol itself – it is the range of terrible consequences, the damage to people’s lives and to the community that result from excessive and inappropriate consumption.
“At Drake, we make a considerable effort with extensive programming to educate our students about responsible and legal drinking. It is important to recognize that we expect our students to be responsible for their own behavior, and we will not be successful in our efforts unless they agree to collaborate with us to address the problems of underage drinking and misuse of alcohol.
“In addition, it is extremely frustrating that the efforts that we make are undermined by lack of cooperation from local bars that do not enforce the laws regarding underage drinking. The solutions to this national epidemic can only be found in a partnership among parents, institutions, the students themselves and the community.
“The incidence of alcohol misuse and related problems is, I believe, lower at Drake than at many institutions, thanks to our efforts and the commitment of our students, but it will continue to be a problem for us as well until all of the stakeholders take responsibility for the issue.”
Updated: 11/17/2009 8:50 p.m.
Why is so much of this story focused on Sigma Chi? It seems to me that if the victim is a freshman, she may not have a good idea of how the alcohol should affect her–especially if it’s punch. The Dublin has had problems with people getting roofied for a long time now and this story, like so many others I’ve seen in the TD recently, is painting a terrible picture of fraternity and sorority life.
What happened is terrible, there have been a lot of problems with that bar and though I wish this never happened, I hope that the administration takes a close look at what is going on at this bar, even if it is off campus.
The headline itself points to the bar and not the house for the root of the assault. The TD isn’t biased against Greek Life here. It looks like they took their info from the police report, so blame the cops for their biased nature.
What “extensive programming to educate our students about responsible and legal drinking” is Maxwell talking about? I haven’t seen shit at Drake about the consequences of drinking. You can’t just say you have extensive programming Maxwell if you don’t actually offer it.
Drake has a drinking problem, and Maxwell is naive to say his university is better off than any other.
Sigma Chi was mentioned twice in an article with over 600 words. Far from a focus on fraternity and sorority life. I think one should be worried more for the student’s well-being and not about the perceptions of Greek life, especially if it is barely mentioned in an article.
The story itself is not so much focused on Sigma Chi but merely mentions that it was where the evening began. On the other hand, you focus way too much on the bar scene. This type of situation could happen anywhere at any bar. You need to realize that Greek life should be looked at greater than the bars especially with recent events involving hazing. Drake administration should take a closer look at Greek house allowed to have alcohol considering anyone at any age can be served. Look at the facts of the story, the girl consumed the alcohol at Sigma Chi but was never quoted saying she was served at the bar. The Dublin was merely the midpoint of the night between consuming the alcohol and going home with the suspect. Try focusing the blame in the correct places.
While it does seem unfair to specifically target Sigma Chi, the article does mention that she went to Dublin after, which is a notorious freshman bar…so its bad publicity for both the bar and the house.
According to another police report that has been filed, there was a second, separate rape that occurred that night too…What the hell is happening to Drake this year?
The story isn’t focused so much on Sigma Chi. The story just mentions that she was there and had some drinks.
I blame the RHA on this. The movie channel hasn’t been showing any movies in the past month except some lame and cheesy documentaries. If I didn’t have anything planned and movies weren’t on, I’d totally do something else.
And guess what? Fraternities and sororities on campus drink; and they drink a lot. But it’s not necessarily just the Greek life on campus, as many others drink as well. People look forward to Thursday nights and the weekends to go drink. They look forward to the relays so that they can get the drink specials. Drake’s school pride pretty much means going out and drinking. Drake does not have anti-alcohol type events going on every weekend and I think it should exist in some way. It doesn’t help either that the some of the Resident Assistants sometimes do go out and drink as well.
Sexual assault is never a good thing… obviously. But why go to a guy’s apartment, alone, as a freshman?? Even after being crazy-drunk, that should still sound like a bad idea. Freshmen girls need to realize they’re adults and when they make stupid decisions, there are guys out there ready to take advantage of them. Not saying it’s her fault the guy assaulted her, or that he is any less guilty because she came home with him, but it’s not like he raped her in an alley or a bathroom of the bar where she would have absolutely no control over the situation.
For those that are thinking that this is another strike against the Greek system, it does not state that anyone from the Greek system was involved in the assault whatsoever. Sigma Chi was mentioned, but that does not make them the criminal. The story also mentions Dublin, but that does that make them the criminal. The criminal is the one that committed the assault. Yes, Sigma Chi was a location where the victim consumed alcohol, but let’s not be naive and assume that alcohol was not consumed at a BAR.
And comparatively speaking, Drake seems to have far fewer problems compared to ISU and University of Iowa. This year just seems to be a sh*t storm for Drake.
This is a terrible thing to happen at Drake University. Alcohol is easily attainable at ANY college campus whether it is from a Greek party, a bar, or anyone who is willing to buy it for you. But, this really shows the harsh reality of drinking to excess. Hopefully students can learn from this to monitor not only yourself, but your friends. Stay in groups, perhaps a more sober voice could have aided her judgement. Another thing to think about is that sadly events like this happen at every college campus and for some larger state schools, this happens every week. Perhaps take into consideration that this seems like such a big deal because it DOESN’T happen all the time, unlike colleges like Iowa. I just hope this person is caught and the victim gets whatever care she needs.
One more thing. I think, as Drake prides itself on our SMJC school, we should look at how our news sources (like the TD) are delivering news. The public has a right to know, but did so many details have to be revealed in this article? Put yourself in this girl’s shoes. Sure, “breaking news” to the campus and public can be exciting – and there has been a lot of that this year. However, we all know this is supposedly “Drake High School,” so unfortunately her name will probably get out. How would you feel if all of campus knew the details of your sexual assault? I feel like the article was a bit insensitive and could have been written a little more carefully.
There is no reason the victim should be blamed in ANY way. This sort of thing should never happen to ANYONE, the rest of the story is irrelevant.
The Dublin is a cesspool of dirt, grime and weakly poured drinks. No wonder bad things like this happen here. The only reason this got picked up by the register is because of the link to fraternities and all of the recent happenings. Greek life isn’t the problem, its the douchy assholes at Club Dub.
there really should be a picture of the fraternity house here…not the bar…that’s where she drank. or a pic of the apartment where it took place allegedly. the only reason to put a pic of the dublin is to mis-represent the facts and throw the attention off the sigma chi house. ridiculous TD. go back to journalism class please.
The bars are not the problem… the problem is the weird guys at Sigma Chi
B,
The victim was not assaulted at the Sigma Chi house. From the stories presented the victim met a guy at Dublin and proceeded to go home with him. Yes, she may have had drinks at the fraternity house, but it doesn’t state whether or not she drank at the bar. Dublin had numerous issues with date rape drugs last year. Stop blaming the fraternity.
Seriously? First of all, it’s illegal for the girl to be drinking in the first place. It impairs people’s judgment and she did walk over to the dude’s apartment. No one deserves to be sexually assaulted but then at the same time, they shouldn’t be putting themselves into a situation for this to be possible either.
Sigma Chi shold lose their charter
People who are saying that it is her fault that she got sexually assaulted need to stop and think about what they’re saying. The reason why so many sexual assaults go unreported is because of people like you telling a VICTIM that they are in the wrong. Regardless of whether or not a person is drunk does not mean that they give up their right to say no. Dancing with someone is not signing a contract saying you will have sex with them.
A kiss is not a contract, but it’s very nice.
I agree with “Student” above. I, or any other person, should be able to get completely drunk and run around campus half-naked without any fear of being sexually assaulted. There is never, EVER a reason that a person should be sexually assaulted and it is NEVER the victims fault. The victim did nothing wrong and should not be blamed because she decided to go to a person’s apartment. In reality, if the victim had been roofied she was certainly not in her right mind and should not be responsible for her actions when it was someone else that induced her state. This really points to Drake’s lack of information about sexual assault AND a lack of information about the side effects of being drugged. All of the students who are defending the fraternity and the bar need to realize that that is not the bigger issue. It has become dangerous for women on campus because of the attitudes towards this incident. The blaming has to stop and everyone who is guilty of this needs to realize that they are perpetuating a society where it is okay to hurt women because they are dressed a certain or act a certain way. It is never okay to hurt another person. Imagine that this girl was your sister, your best friend, your cousin, your mother…would you still blame her for her actions or would you be more focused on her safety and whether or not she is okay?
It is ridiculous that either Sigma Chi or Dublin be blamed for this incident. A person’s drink getting drugged is something that can happen ANYWHERE. The individual who did this is the only person that can be blamed and putting it on Sigma Chi or the Dublin is just making them a scapegoat and it’s not fair to either organization.
TD- I am pretty disappointed in your choice to feature the Dublin’s picture for this article.
Here’s the deal. This is a truly tragic situation, one that unfortunately happens more than any of us know or care to admit. Forget blaming anyone but the “suspect” (which puts it kindly, he should write the world a thank you for the benefit of doubt). Sigma-Chi needs to get over it. The fact is a minor consumed alcohol in their house and had a BAD night there after…true, the party could have been BYOB, but let’s be honest, female freshman…I’m sure she was taken care of by some Casanova. Wahbam, you’re part of the mess. Beyond the obvious issues with someone under the age of 21 consuming alcohol outside of sunday mass, any sharp organization would definitely be sensitive in regards to a situation like this in light of recent events. It’s just good business. When frats are making headlines because someone almost died, don’t be surprised when someone gets hurt and it somehow comes out that they had a few at your place. Damn lucky you weren’t the picture. Dublin, the luck of the irish is running thin. Personally I’m surprised no one has waltz’d out of there to get smoked by a car or that POS bus hasn’t fallen into a million pieces yet. You keep serving minors and it will catch up with you. Just hope some hot-shot lawyer out of Chicago doesn’t have his daughter call home crying or you’ll be having your charter removed so to speak. Let’s get it together guys…quit whining, suck it up, and keep a look out for one another.
To Student 2:
I think you have your wording choice mixed up when you say people are defending the fraternity. People are, however, being less critical of the fraternity because the victim’s drinking at that house is no different than a person pre-gaming in a residence hall or another other residence. The only reason Sigma Chi made the news at all is because of the situation with Phi Delt.
To Student:
Why are you disappointed in the choice to feature a picture of the Dublin? This is the last place the victim was before she went to the off campus apartment where the sexual assault occurred. Would you rather they plaster Sigma Chi’s picture on it? If you don’t want either picture up, what would you like the graphic to be?
People are looking critically at the Dublin because there were quite a few roofie incidents at that bar last year. It sounds like these incidents are rearing their ugly head again and reaching a level that wasn’t reached before.