USC sends memo on nonconsensual drugging

Vice President for Student Affairs Ainsley Carry sent a memo to the USC community Thursday about nonconsensual drugging at campus parties.

Carry said that during office hours in October, a student informed him of what she viewed as a regularity of nonconsensual drugging.

“She explained that among her friends, everyone had a story about someone believing they have been drugged,” Carry wrote in the memo.

According to Carry’s statement, the student said that getting drugged at parties around campus has become normalized.

Carry also addressed the criminality of nonconsensual drugging.

“Students and organizations that are found responsible for ‘spiking drinks’ will be punished to the fullest extent of the law and face disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University,” Carry wrote. “I strongly urge students who have information … to share it with the Department of Public Safety or the Office of Professionalism and Ethics.”

Carry offered students tips on how to reduce the possibility of getting drugged. He said students should not leave their drink unattended and should open their own beverage. They should also be observant by stopping if their drink  tastes off. If a student is believed to be drugged, they should seek medical attention immediately.

The memo ended with a list of resources. Carry said that reporting these incidents is fundamental to preventing them.

“Nonconsensual drugging is a crime and a serious violation of our community standards,” Carry wrote. “Everyone’s help is required to rid our community of this behavior.”