The University Police Department is investigating an alleged drugging at a Tau Kappa Epsilon party Thursday.
The department sent an e-mail about the incident to the GW community Friday night when one female attendee reported becoming sick and experiencing memory loss after swallowing a pill in her drink. Other female attendees also told UPD that they became sick from punch served at the party.
UPD Chief Dolores Stafford said she did not know whether the alleged victim served the punch herself or if it was given to her.
TKE President Benton Brown said in a statement that he was “shocked to hear of the allegation,” adding that the crime alert e-mail was the first he heard of the incident and he does not personally know the alleged victims’ identities.
Tracy Schario, a University spokeswoman, would not confirm if the complainant is a GW student and could not provide any further information on the case since the individual requested anonymity.
Brown said TKE started an internal investigation after receiving the e-mail. Though he could not yet comment on the validity of the allegations, he said this is “not something that happens in TKE.”
The fraternity has suspended any social activities that would include alcohol until the investigation concludes.
“The health and safety of our fellow students as well as our reputation among the GW community are both far more important to us than any social event on our agenda,” Brown said in the statement.
Two female students who attended the party, which they described as very crowded, said they drank the punch and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. One student said it had bits of fruit in it “which someone might have mistaken as something else if they didn’t know it was there.”
The alert also mentioned an incident earlier in the week, when a female student reported falling asleep in a townhouse while intoxicated and waking up in another room with her clothes in “disarray.”
Schario said that all known information was presented in the crime alert and UPD is investigating both of the incidents. She urged anyone with additional information to report it to UPD.
