Published Sept. 18, 2012

Butler University Police Department refused to release the full incident report of a pellet gun shooting that occurred Sept. 11 at Apartment Village.

FERPA

Officials initially cited the Family Education and Privacy Rights Act as the reason the report could not be released.

The federal law, known as FERPA, is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education. It was created to prevent the release of educational records.

In 1992, Congress added a section to the law that outlines what does and does not constitute an educational record.

The U.S. Department of Education clearly states, “’Law enforcement unit records’ are not ‘education records’ subject to privacy protections of FERPA. As such, the law enforcement unit may…disclose law enforcement unit records to third parties without the eligible student’s prior written consent.”

When asked about the federal department’s definition of a law enforcement document, Ben Hunter, chief of staff and executive director of public safety, told The Collegian in an email that since the case had been turned over to student affairs, it was no longer a law enforcement document and is now a disciplinary issue.

Adam Goldstein, an attorney advocate with the Student Press Law Center based in Virginia, said that if a document is created for any law enforcement purposes, it is not protected by FERPA.

He said anyone using the federal law to keep such information secret was running the risk of violating the law and could be fined.

“Just because it’s moved to a different department doesn’t mean that the incident report doesn’t exist,” Goldstein said. “There’s no reason for the department to say that the report is covered. That’s no excuse.”

POLICE RECORDS

Hunter then told The Collegian that since Butler is a private institution, records kept by the department did not fall under the same public records laws as public institutions.

Since Butler police officers have arresting powers, they can be considered as the functional equivalent of a public agency and must follow open records laws.

“These are not special officers,” a representative with the Indiana State Police Department told The Collegian. “They have to follow the same rules that every other officer in the state has to follow.”

The Butler University Police Department’s website on Monday read, “Officers are appointed under statutes of the State of Indiana with full police powers, sharing concurrent jurisdiction in the boundaries of Marion County with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.”

On Tuesday, this statement had changed. The website now reads, “Our police patrol supervisors and police officers are appointed under the statutes of the State of Indiana with full police power and are available 24 hours a day throughout the year. They are graduates of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.”

When asked about the department’s jurisdiction, Hunter said that the department made no arrests, nor did it send the case to a government prosecutor. Therefore, he said, the case was not public record.

Until the department presents a case to a government agency, Hunter said that the records are private.

STUDENT CONDUCT SYSTEM

Most incidents at Butler are not charged in the criminal court system. Instead, the Office of Student Affairs handles incidents.

As outlined by the residence life guidelines in the 2012-13 student handbook, residents may not possess or store firearms—including pellet guns—in their rooms or in any other place in residence halls or university apartment buildings.

Anyone possessing such items is subject to severe student conduct action, which may include suspension or dismissal.

University rules of conduct state that a student can be subject to sanctions if he or she is involved in behavior that could or does result in the physical injury of another person and if a student possesses firearms.

The university’s conduct system consists of administrative reviews and dispositions, administrative appeals, a student conduct board, a university appeals board and appeals to the president.

While most offenses committed on campus will normally result in student conduct action by the university, the handbook states that students can be accountable to both civil and criminal authorities and to the university for acts that constitute violations of such laws.

CRIME IN INDIANA

Both the redacted incident report and the crime report on the Clery log have the incident listed as “criminal recklessness.”

Under Indiana law, criminal recklessness includes a person who recklessly, knowingly or intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury on another person.

Hunter said the officers who answered the call and filed the report submit what charge should be connected to an incident. Hunter said that he wouldn’t have submitted the report as criminal recklessness, which can result in jail time, fines or community service.

It is unlikely that the incident report from last week’s pellet gun shooting will be released, Hunter said. The case is “victim-driven,” and its release is dependent on if the victim decides to press criminal charges.

As of press time, the victim has decided to not press charges and to keep the suspect’s consequences at the university level.

FERPA states that there are exemptions to the release of an incident report.

The most common exemptions are records that would compromise an ongoing investigation.

Hunter said the victim has roughly a year to decide if she wants to press charges. Until then, he said, the case could remain open.

The Butler University Police Department issued a timely warning Tuesday afternoon to warn students about a suspicious individual on campus.

Assistant Chief of Police Bill Weber issued the warning after a student was approached Sept. 11.

A man approached a female student at 10 p.m. between Jordan Hall and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He identified himself as a police officer by showing a badge in his wallet.

The man told the student he needed to give her an alcohol breath test.

After she did, he let her go.

The Indiana State Excise Police have been working on Butler’s campus as a part of the Intensified College Enforcement program. Its presence on campus this year has caused students to be more aware of police activity.

The man involved is reported to be a white male, 27 to 33 years old, around six feet tall and clean-shaven.

BUPD and the excise police have confirmed that the unknown man is not from either organization.

The warning said excise police normally work in pairs and do not make random stops without probable cause.

The report said a student can request an officer to produce additional identification, and the excise police will most likely show a photo ID card. If detained by the excise police, a student can request a BUPD officer be present as well.

BUPD said it reminds students to contact the department for a safety transportation escort if they need it and to take note of the locations of the Code Blue phones.

If a student encounters a stranger on campus, call BUPD at 317-940-9999.

To receive timely warning notifications, students, faculty and staff can sign up for DawgAlert by going to my.butler.edu and searching under the “My Info Tab.”

Students are uncertain about  the new safety changes that Butler University has put into place for this school year.

“The culmination of new changes to policy, an alcohol task force, public excise police and a few high-profile cases are all coming together in a sort of perfect storm, which is causing the tension and fear in the students,” said Ben Hunter, chief of staff and executive director of public safety.

Questions around campus have been raised on the new alcohol policy and what exactly the Butler University Police Department will do differently this year.

Senior Michael Kedzie said that, as a Student Orientation Guide, there was confusion about what to tell students, and it almost appeared as a double standard.

“The ones in charge of preparing the SOGs told us to tell our students, ‘If you choose to drink, then you need to be responsible,’” Kedzie said, “but then later, we were told that, ‘The legal age is 21, and if you aren’t old enough, then it is illegal,’ so we were very confused on what exactly to tell our students.”

He said that the confusion was due to the new policies that everyone was unsure about, and he did not know what was different this year.

However, Assistant Chief of Police Bill Weber said that nothing new is happening this year.

“We are handling our job the same as always,” Weber said, “only approaching students if we have probable cause that something is wrong.”

BUPD does not have authority over the excise police that are known to be on campus now, but they maintain a working relationship.

Hunter also said that this is not the first year that the excise police have been on campus.

“Excise police for the first time is doing its job in a public spectrum through press releases, which is what makes this year different,” Hunter said.

“They have been on campus all four years that I have been in charge.”

The main change this year is the public route that the excise police are taking. In years past, they have done their work in secrecy but have now decided to make a harder push by letting students know their presence.

No matter student opinion and the police presence, the law for underage drinking will remain unchanged.

“The law is the law, and we have the duty to act upon and report illegal activity,” Hunter said, “no matter what the university’s new policy.”

Published Sept. 5, 2012

Sanctions and penalties resulting from alcohol violations are now in the spotlight, with Butler University changing how it handles alcohol consumption and problem drinking by its students.

Fines have been replaced with community restoration activities, which will allow students to work toward decreasing the negative effects of alcohol consumption on campus, said Sally Click, dean of student services.

Being on conduct probation now prohibits students from participating in Greek recruitment and holding any major leadership positions on campus.

The Butler University Police Department has also answered the call to be more consistent with policy enforcement and to hand out summons arrests when necessary.

“I suspect what may occur is, for those that aren’t aware (of the changes), that they will quickly become aware and curb their behavior,” vice president for student affairs Levester Johnson said.

Irene Stevens, dean of student life, said students within the Alcohol Task Force, which was assembled during the last school year, felt previous sanctions for alcohol violations were too lenient and that the university needed to get tougher.

This sentiment is reflected in the student conduct case statistics compiled by Click.

Click said that approximately 75 to 80 percent of all conduct cases over the past several years have involved alcohol or drugs.

According to the statistics, there were 321 total conduct cases recorded in 2002. That number has steadily increased in most years since, culminating in a total of 513 conduct cases last year.

Click added that the number of recorded conduct cases does not represent the number of individuals who were held responsible for offenses or crimes.

According to the 2011-12 conduct report, 33 students were required to receive alcohol or drug assessments from a licensed clinician, and 12 students attended Butler’s in-house alcohol seminar.

Click said the alcohol assessments are mandated for individuals who demonstrate poor choices around alcohol or seem to have addiction issues.

“We have this opportunity to at least intervene,” Click said. “When we see that pattern developing, we ask for an assessment.”

The in-house seminar is conducted by Michael Denton, a program director and chemical dependency specialist with Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Denton is on campus every Friday for a three-hour session with students who have been recommended to attend the event and students who have decided on their own to hear him speak.

“He’s really entertaining and engaging,” Click said. “He tells some compelling stories and talks about the continuum of addiction.”

A description of the sanctions Butler can hand out must also be made available to students, according to parts of Section 120 of Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

This is necessary in order for an institution like Butler to receive funds and financial assistance under any federal program. This includes funding in the form of student loans.

Also required under this act is a biennial review of an institution’s drug and alcohol abuse prevention program. This review must determine the effectiveness of the program and implement any changes that are deemed necessary.

Click said the last review was completed in 2010, and she is working to prepare another one by Dec. 31 of this year.

In addition, the act requires that the number of drug- and alcohol-related violations and the resulting sanctions be reported to the Department of Education.

The Financial Aid Office reviews policy and programming, but BUPD Assistant Chief of Police Andrew Ryan keeps statistics of arrests and referrals related to alcohol and drugs.

The number of alcohol-related arrests by BUPD in 2011 tallied 24 while the number of referrals totaled 167.

Ryan said arrest numbers have increased in 2012, while referral numbers have fallen.

While these statistics are undergoing change, so are Butler’s attempts to prepare students for alcohol-related situations in college.

Butler released a new online module called MyStudentBody, and all first-year students are asked to take the survey in the module. The survey addresses alcohol and drug use and sexual assault.

Click said the module will be tested for a three-year period before the university can assess its impact.

“(The module) is going to provide us information to direct our educational efforts and programs,” Click said. “It’s one of those things where other campuses are doing it and we haven’t done it up to this point, and we just thought it would be worth an effort.”

The MyStudentBody module will be used in conjunction with the Indiana Collegiate Action Network survey, which gathers information on students and their choices regarding alcohol, Click said.

The benefit of the alterations to alcohol-related sanctions and penalties cannot be determined so soon, but Click said she felt the changes were necessary.

“We have to have some response,” Click said. “It’s our duty, it’s our obligation and it’s the right thing to do if our mission is education of the whole person.”

Sept. 5, 2012
“Butler University is certainly not immune to sexual assault. It happens more than people think.”

Sexual assault often goes unreported, leaving the victim to deal with the effects, the perpetrator free with no repercussions and universities looking to adjust programs and judicial systems to deal with the crime.

Butler University, officials said, is no different.

Each year, organizations work to sponsor Sexual Assault Awareness Week in September.

This year, with the events just two weeks away, they’re looking to further the conversation surrounding sexual assault on campus.

Greek Educators, Advocates and Resources, Peers Advocating Wellness for Students and the Butler University Police Department, among other organizations, have been working together to plan this year’s recognition.

“Butler isn’t immune to sexual assault,” said Sarah Barnes Diaz, health education and outreach programs coordinator. “It happens more than people realize, and it needs to be talked about.”

Sexual Assault Goes Unreported

Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that less than five percent of completed and attempted rapes of college women are reported to law enforcement officials. Off college campuses, that number jumps to about 40 percent.

At Butler, it’s no different.

In 2010, there were four sexual assaults reported to BUPD.

Though 2011’s comprehensive crime data hasn’t been released, at least two sexual assaults were reported in the 2011-12 academic year.

Assistant Chief of Police Andrew Ryan said that the numbers of actual sexual assaults are far higher than that.

“The survivor of the assault can feel like he or she is at fault,” Ryan said. “As hard as we work to try to dispel that feeling, it doesn’t always work.”

When a sexual assault is reported, Diaz said, the primary concern for her is the victim’s well-being.

“For us, it’s about helping to support the victim in identifying what steps to take,” Diaz said. “We tell the victim all of his or her options so he or she can make the right choice.”

A lot of the times, Diaz said, victims don’t want to prosecute the perpetrator. Most of the time, she continued, the victims fear that people will find out.

Butler University Police Department’s crime log showed 16 thefts reported on campus between June and August.
BUPD staff said this was actually a fairly quiet summer.
Locations of thefts varied from residence halls to academic buildings. One item accounted for over half of the total summer thefts—bikes.
Bikes and small electronics are the most common stolen items on campus,  detective Bruce Allee said.
“These people stealing bikes blend right in with the rest of campus,” Allee said. “They’re young people, and they wear backpacks to blend in. But then they whip the wire cutters out of their backpack and break through the locks. Then they ride them to a pawn shop.”
There is still something students can do to protect their rides, although it may be unnerving that bikes are being stolen while locked.
Allee said every student should invest in a U-lock.
Ben Hunter, chief of staff and executive director of public safety, also attested to the effectiveness of U-locks.
There has never been a case of a bike stolen at Butler that was secured with a U-lock, Hunter said.
“If you want to keep your bike,” Allee said, “you need to get a U-lock.”
Another way to protect a bike on campus is to take advantage of a new database that BUPD can now use to recover stolen items.
Hunter, said BUPD purchased a contract with a national database that compares the serial numbers of items reported stolen on campus to items that are pawned all across the nation.
“As of right now, giving BUPD your bike’s serial number is a voluntary action,” Hunter said. “If the numbers of bike thefts don’t go down at all, we may move to make this registration of bikes mandatory.”
Other summer thefts revolved mainly around items being taken from cars or off-campus houses in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood.
“The biggest mistake here is leaving cars unlocked and keeping valuables visible,” Allee said, mentioning iPods, GPS devices and cell phones in particular.
“Students also think that it’s okay to keep their house or dorm rooms unlocked for just a little while if their roommate will be home soon,” Hunter said. “This is just as dangerous. A lot can happen in the half hour the door is unlocked.”
“In a case where a laptop was stolen from a house on Berkley, the residents weren’t even sure if their door was locked or not,” Allee said. “Please just always lock your doors.”
But besides just locking up, students can be proactive in protecting their property.
“Reporting suspicious activity is always very helpful,” Hunter said. “If we can catch these guys before they do any damage, that’s the best-case scenario. And with the largest freshman class in Butler’s history, now is the time more than ever to look out for your fellow students.”

Parking Enforcement Officer Aaron Chalmers may be the most misunderstood man on campus.

The feeling of dread elicited by a tiny green slip of paper on the windshield of a car is familiar to many Butler University students with cars on campus.

With parking enforcement officer Aaron Chalmers on duty, parking tickets are sure to find their way under the windshield wipers of vehicles in violation of parking restrictions.
While Chalmers has been cast as the man who doles out endless parking tickets, the man outside his parking pick-up truck tells quite a different story.

Q:   Describe your experience in parking enforcement here at Butler.
A:   I’ve been working as the parking enforcement officer for about 10 or 11 years.  I’ve been at Butler for 20 years.  I’ve worked as a dispatcher, police officer and security officer.  I’ve held about every position.  I got out of college and was looking for a job, and I ended up staying at college.  You guys stay the same age, and I just keep getting older and older.
Q:   How do you feel writing out tickets to students who probably don’t appreciate it?
A:   I don’t really think about it anymore.  I mean, when I first started, I felt pretty bad about it.  No one wants to be seen as the evil guy.  Now I hate to say that you get cold to it, but you really do.  I’ve repeated the action so many times that I’ve stopped thinking about it.

Q:   What is the funniest excuse you’ve heard to try to escape getting a ticket?
A:  I had a girl try to tell me that she never brings her car to campus, so she didn’t understand the parking.  She had run out of time on the parking meter.  That is pretty standard everywhere, not just at Butler.  I’ve heard about every story there is, so I can usually finish every excuse before it’s started.  Just be honest with me.

Q:   How do students react to instances where they walk up to you while you are writing the ticket?
A:  Well, there’s a whole lot of everything.  It happens daily.  Some argue, some beg, some just take the ticket.  I don’t want to give them a ticket any more than they want one.  If you don’t hand them out to violators, you lose control of the campus.

Q:  What are some of the weirdest places students have parked?
A:   Nothing immediately comes to mind as being really out of the ordinary.  I’ve never seen a car on top of a building or anything.  One year, some guys from one of the fraternity houses tried to park their truck on top of a large snow bank.  It got stuck, and they had to call a tow truck to come haul them out.  I guess they didn’t realize that snow can’t hold 8,000 pounds.

Q:  Have you ever gotten a parking ticket?
A:  Yes, I have.  I can’t remember the exact instances.  It was probably when I was about 16 or 17, so it was a couple years ago.  Well, I’m exaggerating on the “couple years ago” part.  I think I had let the parking meter expire.  I wasn’t really upset about it.  The police officers were just doing their job like every other person.  Like I am now.

Butler University President Jim Danko created a new position in his office and filled vacancies in two others, he announced in an April 2 memo.

The university now has an executive assistant to the Board of Trustees, a role filled by Carol Wroblewski.  Wroblewski is a former associate provost at Butler.  She will communicate with trustees  and work to involve them in university events, tasks previously left to the president’s assistant.

Danko hired Heather Vaughn, a former Rolls-Royce official, as his executive assistant. Vaughn replaces former Bobby Fong aide Ellen Clark, who retired after Fong left to become president at Ursinus College.

Cate Marshall replaces the departed Velinda Bennett as office assistant.  Marshall was a board administrator for the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety.

“What is common when you had a president in place as long as Bobby, you have staff changes,” said Ben Hunter, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety.  “This restructuring increases our flexibility.”

Hunter moved his office from the Butler University Police Department to the president’s office in January.  Although most of his duties haven’t changed, Hunter assumed one major new one: direct oversight of compliance with state and federal regulations.

“By heart, I’m a policy wonk,” Hunter said. “Now that the staff is in place, it affords me the ability to get to those projects and those issues.”

Hunter said priority must be given to following the Clery Act and Title IX law, and he can now do that by working more closely with Danko.

“It’s a good fit,” he said. “It works out well with my background.”

Wroblewski, approaching 15 years of experience at Butler, said her position is a work in progress since she started work March 19.  She remains in the process of meeting the Board of Trustees.

“It’s fascinating to get to know this diverse group of people so intimately involved with the university,” she said.

Wroblewski holds weekly phone conversations with Chair John Hargrove.

Vaughn is in her fifth week at Butler, and Marshall is in her fourth.  Each said working with Danko is exciting.

“I can appreciate his perspective,” Vaughn said. “He’s business-minded. I have a similar mindset.”

Marshall said the Butler community has been very welcoming.

“I’ve been thrilled with people just stopping by to introduce themselves,” she said.  “I couldn’t be happier.”

Danko was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Hunter said Vaughn, Marshall and Wroblewski fit Danko’s innovative style of leadership.

“You want a president’s office that’s inviting and has great dynamics,” Hunter said. “President Danko has achieved that. It’s nice to have outstanding people who will offer a great atmosphere when people walk in the door.”

Hunter also said having a liaison to the Board of Trustees is a critical step.

“You have the board guiding our university in so many ways, having so many meetings a year, so it is important strategically,” Hunter said.

Wroblewski, who holds a doctorate degree in counseling psychology from Ball State University, said she doesn’t know how Clark managed board relations on top of other
duties.

“I am more than busy,” Wroblewski said. “That leads me to believe she was doing an incredible amount of work.”

Wroblewski said the trick, though, is to decide what information is need-to-know.

“That’s the core issue this first year,” she said. “I would hate to waste these busy peoples’ time.”

Vaughn said her biggest job is managing Danko’s calendar.  She said her new position applies many skills used in a 15-year career at Rolls-Royce.

“I just like helping people,” Vaughn said. “I feel that’s what my purpose is. It’s me.”

Vaughn said she has enjoyed Danko’s sense of humor.

“I don’t know if we’ll end up doing practical jokes,” she said, “but we’ll keep it lighthearted.”

Vaughn applied to be Danko’s aide after serving with Hunter on Indianapolis’ Super Bowl Host Committee.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Butler is a wonderful place to work,” Vaughn said.  “I felt I made a very good decision. It’s proven so.”

Published April 10, 2012

OUR POINT THIS WEEK: Hiring unnecessary staff while vital positions are being cut is not the way to help Butler students succeed | VOTE: 27-0-4

A core curriculum program  $400,000 in the red. Four percent increases in tuition.

Recent controversies whirling around campus seem to be following the tone of money, money, money.

Despite all of these fiscal mishaps and concerns, Butler University’s administration stands unfazed with its hands on its wallet. Butler President Jim Danko will be hiring three “advising staff” for the sole purpose of “mitigating student concerns.”

While these three overqualified individuals fill up space in the administrative offices, several committed, necessary faculty and staff are being undervalued.

From faculty put on constant one-year contracts—deservedly or not—to the elimination of the College of Communication’s internship coordinator, people on campus directly involved in “student concerns” are being removed while Danko stuffs his office with unnecessary positions.

Even worse, when approached about the elimination of CCOM’s internship coordinator, Interim Provost Kathryn Morris said it was simply a CCOM problem.

The problem is that some CCOM majors require an internship in order to earn their degree, not to mention that internships guarantee an increased likelihood of scoring a job after graduation.

The provost’s job is to oversee the university and ensure that students recieve the best education possible, and that includes involving herself in the grimy issues of the individual colleges.

By writing off the administration-mandated termination of a position that greatly benefits students as a college problem, the administration makes itself appear callous to the concerns students have about their education.

This administrative tendency to appear and act out-of-touch affects more than just CCOM. It stretches campus wide.

This becomes especially clear when looking 15 years back, during a financial crisis. Despite the severity of the situation, the administration found ways to retain and fund crucial positions, including the internship coordinator.

Students, staff and other community members have voiced their worries about widespread issues including parking, hiked tuition, financial aid and underfunded classes and programs.

But the administration has not proposed a long-lasting solution or, rather, not prioritized its spending in a way that reflects student concerns.

Instead of finding ways to work with the current budget to fund the core or save some vital positions, Danko’s administration has taken money from the same “underfunded” system to pay for three positions.

Instead of making pay equitable or expanding swamped departments, money is spent on installing fireplaces in Atherton and purchasing a Charger for the Butler University Police Department.

Instead of concrete, honest solutions and outlooks on Butler’s multitude of issues, we have more evasive answers and mixed messages about Butler being a “community of care.”

Enough politicking.  Enough unclear goals and innovation funds.

Butler administrators, if they really believe we live in a community of care, should prioritize spending to improve the very reason for their existence: the students and their educations.

The Butler University Police Department is investigating a woman’s allegation that she may have been drugged while at a Dec. 2 party at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.

The woman, whose name was not released by police upon her request, first made the allegation to BUPD March 8.  She is not certain her drink was spiked.

“It probably occurred here if something happened,” Hunter said.

After it was ordered to stop operations in the fall, the fraternity could come under renewed scrutiny if the latest allegation has weight.

“If evidence bears out one particular location on campus is an issue, then student affairs will deal with it,” said Ben Hunter, chief of staff.

There is a suspect in the case who is known by the victim and who has been identified to police, according to BUPD’s case log.

Hunter said it is possible that Detective Bruce Allee, head of the investigation, has narrowed the search to one person.

Allee said the investigation is ongoing.

“He’ll either close it out if it’s unfounded, or he’ll leave it open and continue to investigate,” Hunter said.

The university hit Phi Kappa Psi with a cease-and-desist order following an alleged sexual assault that is said to have occurred on its property in September.  That case is still under investigation.

Dean of Student Life Irene Stevens, citing university privacy policy, did not disclose whether the fraternity remains under sanction.

“Phi Psi should not have had a party on December 2,” Stevens said.  “Conduct probation typically [means] no parties.”

Under state law, the act of slipping a drug into a person’s drink is assault.  BUPD has listed the alleged act as battery with bodily injury.

Hunter said the case is difficult to investigate.

“We don’t have the drink,” he said.  “We didn’t have a whole lot to go off.  We’ll look at it and see what we can do to move it forward.”

More than three months passed between the time the woman believes her drink was spiked and the first report to police.  Hunter said he didn’t expect that to hinder the investigation.

“At some point, like two years from now, it does lose its ability to go back and be pieced together,” he said.  “December, I don’t know that that’s such a huge hurdle.”

Phi Kappa Psi president Ryan Medas did not respond to a request for comment.  Individual members, citing fraternity policy, declined comment on Phi Kappa Psi’s standing with Butler.

“Probation typically lasts longer than a couple months,” Stevens said.

Hunter said he was not aware of any similar reports stemming from the night of Dec. 2 or from Phi Kappa Psi in general.

Stevens said her office will wait for BUPD to complete its investigation before reaching any decision on potential discipline, which could apply to an individual, to a Greek house or to both.

“We always take past behavior and past sanctions into account, whether it be individual or group,” Stevens said.  “Sanctions will be more stringent on the second and third violation.”

It is possible the case could be presented to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, though Hunter said criminal charges are unlikely.

“It’s going to be difficult to go that route because you don’t have evidence,” he said.

University discipline, Hunter said, is possible if the allegation is found to be true.

The victim has the option to ask student affairs to pursue university conduct charges.  Stevens, who oversees all conduct outside Butler’s residence halls, would then determine whether to charge a student or an organization with a violation.

In his fourth year at Butler, Hunter said spiked drinks have not been an issue during his tenure.

“If it is, it’s not getting reported,” he said.  “If this is occurring in our community, it’s disappointing, to say the least.  We want people to report them to us.”

Stevens said students should keep drinks in closed containers and avoid leaving them unattended.

Allee said they should realize drugs like Rohypnol, commonly called roofies, could appear at just about any location.

“We know they’re out there,” he said.  “We don’t know if they’re pervasive. It’s much more of a hazard away from school than it is here.”

Allee said the drugs severely slow respiration and could even prove fatal if the person does not get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

There is no timeline for BUPD’s investigation.