Two female Syracuse University students were sexually assaulted in separate incidents in the past two weeks. Both students had attended fraternity parties on the nights of the events.

The first incident occurred at about 1 a.m. Sept. 13 and involved a student who was attending a party at 304 Walnut Place, the address of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, according to SU spokesman Kevin Morrow. The fraternity is not recognized by the university, Morrow said.

The student told officials she had consumed several mixed drinks given to her by a resident of the house, Morrow said. The student said she was extremely intoxicated when she began dancing with an unidentified man. After guiding her to one side of the room, the student said the man began to unzip her pants and his pants and proceeded to have sex with her, Morrow said.

The student said she would not have had sex with the man if she had not been intoxicated, Morrow said.

Department of Public Safety and Rape Center officials met with the student Sept. 23, Morrow said. While the student said she did not want to press criminal charges, she filed a complaint with the Office of Judicial Affairs. Public Safety is investigating the case and has identified a male SU student as a suspect, Morrow said.

Sam Walker, a senior economics major and president of Alpha Tau Omega, had no comment on the incident.

The second incident occurred Sept. 20 and involved a student who attended a party at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house, Morrow said.

The student said she had been drinking beer at a South Campus residence prior to attending the party.

At the party, she accepted a drink from an unknown man, and her memory of the events following that is incomplete.

She left the party with an unknown man and believes she was signed into a residence hall. After that, she remembers seeing a man lying on top of her and the inside of a residence hall room, Morrow said.

Later, the student found herself outside a building she believed to be Watson Residence Hall with two unknown men.

The student received a checkup at the Health Center on Sept. 24 and met with Public Safety and Rape Center officials Thursday, Morrow said. The case is currently being investigated by the Syracuse Police Department abused persons unit and the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office. There are no suspects in the case, Morrow said.

Tau Kappa Epsilon president Steve Glass, a senior communications and rhetorical studies major, said he was not aware of the incident and that the fraternity had not been contacted by investigators.

‘Anyone being sexually harassed is just disgusting,’ said Michael Fiedel, a senior advertising major and vice president of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Published on September 30, 2003 at 12:00 pm