I am now a junior at Oswego State. I have been to at least one party per weekend since I have been enrolled. In my time at Oswego, I have had a lot of fun and met a lot of people. I have been to sport houses, fraternity houses, venues downtown and get-togethers of all kinds. So far I have been safe and felt out of harm’s way.

You always worry about being somewhere new with people you don’t know. You don’t put your bag down or keep your wallet in your back pocket when you go somewhere new. You don’t leave your jacket on a chair and walk away at a place crawling with people. Of course, closed parties are, in theory, better to go to because you can relax with the people you know. You can leave your bags and clothes wherever you choose because no one will steal them or move them. The best part is being able to put your drink down and not have to watch it.

Wrong.

This past weekend I went to a closed party of all friends. By the end of the party, some people I did not recognize were mixing with my friends. The next day a pal came to tell me about the night. It began with, “It was a great party… but by 11 p.m. the trees on the street were talking to me.”

This sounded like a hallucinogenic drug trip, since it did not result in a black hole of no memory.

Why would anyone drug someone’s drink? Especially if the victim would still be functioning and walking home with friends? While my friends made it home unharmed, it is still concerning.

No one is to be trusted, even in a party of all friends that know and trust each other. Don’t put your drink down anywhere for any reason. Just get a new drink, cover it and bring it with you as if you needed it to stabilize your life.