Educate Students on Steering Clear of Substance-Related Sexual Assaults
While we know you aren't in the business of advocating partying, we know that you are in the business of trying to keep your student safe if she chooses to engage in these activities. As students stay cooped up this winter season, it's likely that some may decide to enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two. Encourage them to take these simple steps to keep themselves and their friends safe from substance-related sexual assaults:

• Do not leave beverages unattended.
  
• Do not take any beverages, including alcohol, from someone you do not know well and trust.
  
• At a bar or club, accept drinks only from the bartender, waiter or waitress. If someone offers to buy you a drink, go with the person to the bar and watch the bartender make your drink.
  
• Do not accept open container drinks from anyone. (This includes punch bowls.)
  
• Be alert to the behavior of friends. Anyone appearing disproportionately intoxicated in relation to the amount of alcohol they have consumed may have consumed a tampered beverage.
  
• If you start to feel strange or unusually intoxicated, seek help from a friend. A stranger who offers to help you or escort you from the event could be someone who's slipped you a drug and plans to do you harm.
  
• Anyone who suspects that they have ingested a tampered drink or sedative-like substance should be taken to a hospital emergency room or should call 911 for an ambulance. Be sure to ask for a urine sample and try to keep a sample of the beverage for analysis.
  
• Party in groups, never leave a party without accounting for those you came with and always pre-plan a safe ride home.
  
• Be careful whom you invite back to your room.

Do whatever you can to get this important message to your student in a way that will make her hear it. Many substance-related sexual assaults can be avoided with smart, proactive behavior.