Stickers around campus claim "Ski drugs women"

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story, and will be updated as The Polytechnic receives more information.

Stickers that stated “SKI DRUGS WOMEN” were found around campus yesterday, featuring a picture of a hand holding a pill over an open drink. Ski is the nickname of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity.

The stickers were found at the Rensselaer Union, in front of Russell Sage Dining Hall, along the walkway from the Darrin Communications Center to the Jonsson Engineering Center, Russell Sage Laboratory, West Hall, and in front of the Folsom Library.

It is unclear who put up and took down the stickers, and the accusation made by the stickers has not been verified by The Polytechnic. It follows a pattern of unverified rumors of druggings on campus.

The Polytechnic emailed Interfraternity Council President Doug Ladzinski ’23 and President of Ski Eric Bienstock ’21 for comment on who put up the stickers, when they were taken down and by whom, how the IFC is addressing the presence of the stickers with Ski and other fraternities, and if the stickers had any relation to a recent Poly article about an alleged drugging. Ladzinski was also asked if Public Safety was alerted about the presence of these stickers. Neither Ladzinski nor Bienstock responded to the request for comment.

Stickers were removed throughout the day, but The Polytechnic could not confirm who removed the stickers or the exact time at which all stickers were removed.

The Polytechnic reached out to the Department of Public Safety, Associate Dean for Fraternity and Sorority Commons Ethan Stubbs, and the RPI Strategic Communication and External Relations team for comment. Neither Public Safety nor Stubbs provided a comment to The Polytechnic.

Interim Vice President for Strategic Communications Gary Zarr commented with the following: “The policy of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is to provide a living, learning, and working environment which is free from all forms of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation for our faculty, staff, and students. Rensselaer proactively educates the campus community, including our Greek fraternities and sororities, on sexual misconduct prevention and bystander intervention. The Institute takes any allegation of harassment, discrimination, or sexual misconduct seriously; however, we do not comment on rumors, investigations, or cases.”