A WEEK OF AWARENESS BEFORE SPRING BREAK

CSU is teaming up with Larimer County in a Predatory Drug Awareness
Campaign to send a message to students the week before spring break.

The Drug Enforcement Agency reports that drug-facilitated sexual assaults
are on the rise nationally.

CSU's Department of Art and Center for Drug and Alcohol Education responded
by having graphic art students design posters on the topic of date-rape
drugs. Larimer County decided to utilize some of the posters in the
Predatory Drug Campaign.

"Use of predatory drugs is on the rise nationally. We'd rather be proactive
than reactive," said Pam McCracken, director of CSU's Center for Drug and
Alcohol Education.

Professors' Phil Risbeck and John Gravdahl assigned the poster project for
an advanced graphic art class last semester. The posters were hung in the
Lory Student Center Art Lounge in December and students voted to determine
the winners.

Robert Black, Jason Barfknecht and Katie Getzelman, the student winners,
will have their posters exhibited all week long in Larimer County schools,
Old Town and Campus West restaurants and bars.

"Protect your drink. Protect yourself. Protect your friends."

This slogan displayed on the winning CSU posters is a simple message that
students can take on spring break, McCracken said.

The Predatory Drug Awareness Campaign is targeting students the week before
spring break because some may choose to travel to unfamiliar places where
their inhibitions may be let down and they may not be clear on where to go
for help in the case of a drug related assault.

"Everybody knows college kids are going to party. The more information they
have on how to do it safely the better off they are," said Nate King, civil
engineer major and a resident assistant in Allison Hall.

GHB, Ketamine and Rohypnol are the target drugs of the campaign because
they are most often used in drug-related rape.

GHB is clear and odorless when dissolved in drinks, it metabolizes quickly
in the body and causes memory impairment.

Victims of predatory drugs are told to seek the immediate help from a
friend and go to the emergency room or contact their local police right
away upon suspecting drug effects, which may include sudden intoxication,
dizziness or sleepiness.

GHB is in and out of one's system in a relatively short period of about
twelve hours. Poudre Valley Hospital does not test for predatory drugs
unless requested and the testing can be relatively expensive, McCracken said.

"Men talk about being victims of this sort of thing, too," she said. "It is
not only women who are victims."

The campaign will come to the Lory Student Center Plaza on Tuesday from
11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. Volunteers will hand out more information and raise
awareness.

A Predatory Drugs Town Hall Meeting will be held in the Durrell Center Red
Carpet Room on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. The meeting is open to all
Larimer County residents and is meant to inform the community about the
dangers of predatory drugs in a local context and how to take action if you
become a victim of a drug facilitated sexual assault.

"We want people to be aware that this kind of thing is happening out there
and that they need to look out for each other - even in places we consider
safe." McCracken said.