The male student reported to have drugged and assaulted a female student in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house has been referred to the Dean of Student Life, Dee Siscoe, according to police. The woman involved declined to file criminal charges.
A woman called police last Thursday at 2:08 a.m. saying that a male student affiliated with the SAE fraternity had put an unknown substance in her drink, taken her to a storage area in the SAE house and assaulted her. Police have not identified the substance in the woman’s drink.
The investigation ended after the woman decided not to press charges, and SMU PD no longer views the matter as a police investigation, according to Chief of Police Richard A. Shafer. SMU PD issued a campus alert about the situation last Thursday.
Shafer says that the police will not file charges with Dallas County. However, the case has been referred to the Office of Student Life.
The student handbook states that “when behavior deemed to be in violation of or not in accordance with the Student Code, university policy, or any law upheld by SMU comes to the attention of the university, the university has the right to take disciplinary and/or civil action against those involved…
“An accused may be found to have committed the offense of sexual misconduct or sexual assault only if the other person did not consent to the sexual conduct and the accused either knew or was aware of a risk that the other person had not consented.”
The handbook explains that factors such as the ingestion of drugs or alcohol are taken into account when considering whether or not the act was consensual.
Cases brought before the university judicial council face the following sanctions: expulsion, suspension, cancellation of the housing contract, disciplinary probation, judicial reprimand, fines, disqualification from holding official student positions or participating in university activities, restitution, notification of parents, national organizations or authorizing body, suspension of privileges, disciplinary violation transcript record, educational sanctions, deferred sanctions and referrals to other offices.
