The University of Maryland SGA passed a bill Wednesday to provide funding for QR code stickers in College Park bars to inform students about the signs and symptoms of being drugged.
These stickers will include information about the symptoms of getting roofied, as well as support resources and how to get tested if someone suspects they were drugged.
“We want to put those up in the bars just in case someone is in an emergency situation, so they can access those resources,” Rhiannon Little, a sophomore criminology and criminal justice major and the Student Government Association’s Courtyards representative, said. “A lot of times, those things don’t get reported because people don’t have access to the resources or they don’t know even if they’re experiencing it.”
The SGA plans to purchase 300 stickers, according to the bill.
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The QR codes could help students who are just starting college, according to Reese Artero, sophomore criminology and criminal justice major and the undergraduate student representative for the SGA.
“A lot of especially freshmen, they don’t know the difference whether they’re drunk or drugged,” Artero said. “One of our biggest goals this year is really to combat drug-facilitated sexual assault.”
Artero also said the SGA plans to communicate with local bars to implement more sexual assault prevention measures, including encouraging bars to distribute drink testing kits.
The bill passed unanimously with 24 votes and one abstention. Representatives from the SGA plan to speak with Cornerstone Grill and Loft, one of the bars in College Park, this week about distributing the stickers.
