It will never happen to you… right? Why would it? You are a responsible person and you look out for yourself and for your friends. So why would you get drugged? Well, those were my exact sentiments as well — until two weeks ago.

That was before I found myself pushing a guy in a bar to get him off of my best friend and then carrying out her unconscious body. I was with her all night, I was watching the guy she was talking to, and I still missed it. My best friend was roofied in a Madison hotspot right under my nose.

Drugged victims often fall unconscious, and upon awakening, most victims have no recollection of what happened to them. Date rape drugs are also usually colorless, odorless and dissolve easily in liquid. Basically, these drugs are easy to use and provide a situation in which an individual can be taken advantage of without any hassle for the aggressor.

The point I would like to emphasize here is that my friend was with people she trusted, and it still happened. We knew most of the people in the bar, and we were being careful. Two men we did not know came up to talk to us, and since they were strangers, we were both wary and welcoming at the same time.

One of the men went to the bar to buy my friend a drink. Now, before you place judgment on my friend for accepting a stranger's drink, think how many times you asked someone else to grab you a drink, or how many times you weren't watching your drink the whole night? It happens all the time; you set it down for a second to grab something out of your purse, or your friend's friend wants to grab you a beer to be nice. All these seemingly harmless situations can potentially be quite dangerous.

Before I could piece together what had happened, the stranger relocated to my friend's side with his arm around her. She could not keep her head up. She didn't even recognize me.
We made him leave once we saw the state she was in, but not before he put up a bit of a fight. He eventually left, but when he did, he left my friend unconscious and vulnerable. We got her home and safely in bed — and luckily, other than a few bruises caused by her inability to stand, she wasn't physically harmed. However, many women are not as lucky as she was, and this needs to be addressed.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 80 percent of rape victims are women under the age of 30. That means you and me.

More terrifying is that more than two-thirds of rapes committed are by people who the victim actually knows, as opposed to the stereotypical stranger lurking in an unmarked van. So if this is all true, what can we do as concerned students?

This is a tough question, because honestly, there isn't a lot more we can do than be careful. Watch your drink, watch you friends' drinks and watch the people you and your friends are talking to. All of this is common sense. And quite obviously, don't let your friends go off with random people when they are drunk.

I am terrified by the fact that my best friend was drugged right in front of me. I am disturbed by the fact that someone would think that it is a good idea to render someone unconscious for the sole purpose of sexual pleasure.

I am mortified at the fact that while we were carrying my roommate out of the bar, people were pointing and laughing at her. And I am angry at the fact that the man who did it to her is still strolling around Madison, most likely unaffected by the whole ordeal.

The most important thing that can be done, aside from the obvious aforementioned tactics, is to be aware of the reality of this epidemic. Date rape drugs are out there and people use them. The whole idea of "it won't happen to me" is terribly idiotic. Be aware, be aware, be aware.

Danielle Werder ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and social welfare.