This October, drink testing kits will be made available on the Pace University Pleasantville campus.

Intended to detect foreign substances (such as date rape drugs) in beverages, the tool was first implemented by Pace New York’s Dean for Students Marijo Russel O’Grady.

This tool comes in the form of a yellow card with two test panels on it, upon which a student must place a drop of their beverage onto both designated spots of the test, smear each gently, and wait until the beverage dries. Once the test dries and changes color, a code on the back of the card will tell you the results.

Pace-Pleasantville’s cards will also feature emergency contact information for Campus Security and Dean for Students Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo.

They will be made available to students in the Counseling Center, Health Services Office, Residence Halls, and Dean Lisa’s office.

“We’ve not had any [cases of abuse due to drugged drinks] reported,” Bardill Moscaritolo said. “Does that mean it doesn’t happen? Of course not. If it were to be reported, we would follow campus policy.”

According to the Center for Women and Families, drug facilitated rape is especially prevalent on college campuses with the primary facilitator being alcohol.

Pace University’s policy for handling sexual assault, stalking, and domestic/intimate partner complaints on campus includes taking immediate action upon receiving a report of the occurrence.

The University is then meant to conduct an investigation, in which all parties are expected to cooperate. If any party within the investigation should fail to cooperate during an investigation, they are liable to undergo disciplinary action. Any retaliation due to the filing of a complaint would also be met with disciplinary action by the University.

Pace University also currently has a mobile app called “Just in Case.” Designed by mental health professionals and customized by universities, the app provides students with immediate and relevant resources should they face mental health obstacles or thoughts of suicide.

There are also other useful tools which can help students, in the case that they do not take advantage of this tool when it is offered.

“Circle of 6” is a free app designed to prevent violence. The application has various icons which alert the user’s designated six friends of particular situations.

The car icon releases an immediate SMS message which informs one’s Circle of 6 that this person requires a ride to get home safe immediately; this icon also uses a GPS to show the Circle of 6 their friend’s exact location.

In addition, the application has a phone icon which immediate releases an SMS message to one’s six which reads “Call and pretend you need me. I need an interruption.”

The chat icon informs the six that their friend is looking for information on healthy relationships and respect, and it also provides them with links to loveisrespect.org and whereisyourline.org.

Last but not least, the app’s exclamation point icon includes pre-programmed national hotlines and local numbers which can be customized the app user.

“It’s about students looking out for each other,” said Bardill Moscaritolo.