A day after an email went out warning Fredericton University Students of cases of drink spiking, reaction to the issue continues to grow.
Students at the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University received an email from administration which revealed that students have reported being drugged, after consuming their own drinks while out at a local bar.
Fourth year psychology student Jordana Stanford says she thinks the awareness is a good thing.
“It's always been happening, so I think the more we talk about it and the more we say, ‘if this is happened to you it's okay to come forward, it's okay to say this happened to you,’” says Stanford.
Many students told CTV News that drink spiking is not a new issue and they're glad the university is at least talking about it. They also say they either have a friend or know of someone who's had it happen to them.
Other students took issue with the email warning, saying it didn’t mention anything about the actual culprit and the fact that drink-spiking is illegal.
The Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre says the universities could learn from this discussion and work to change the conversation.
“That means that we need to be looking at who's perpetrating this behavior, rather than focusing on potential victims and their behavior, which is irrelevant. We need to focus on those who are spiking the drinks,” says Lorraine Whalley, with the Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre.
UNB security told CTV News Friday that the three students who reported the incident spent the night in the hospital. They also say they want students to feel comfortable reporting these situations and coming forward if they see someone spiking a drink.
“The whole thing is to encourage people to come forward and not worry about being perceived as they're at fault for whatever happened. That just doesn't happen in my office,” says Bruce Rogerson, UNB security.
It is unclear if the students reported what happened to police.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Laura Brown
