The city of Clemson Police Department, Clemson University Police Department and Clemson Panhellenic are strengthening their efforts to protect students and enhance campus safety by introducing the Green Screen kits, an advanced testing tool for detecting drink tampering.
At a Panhellenic safety council meeting on Jan. 21, council members gathered for a comprehensive discussion on safety concerns affecting the campus and the Panhellenic community.
Panhellenic members, who make up 46% of Clemson’s undergraduate female population, face a range of widely known safety risks, including drink spiking, overconsumption of alcohol, underage drinking and drunk driving. In the fall of 2024 alone, Greek life students accounted for more than half of medical amnesty cases involving emergency medical transport.
City of Clemson Police Chief Jorge Campos and CUPD Deputy Chief Chris Harrington joined the meeting to share insight into advancements in drink tampering detection. The two introduced the Green Screen kit, a tool that collects blood and urine samples to detect drugs and assist medical professionals and law enforcement in investigating suspected cases of drink spiking.
“The Clemson Police Department is committed to the safety of our community. If drink spiking is happening, we will employ all the necessary resources to prove that it is and bring those to justice for doing so,” Campos told The Tiger in an interview.
“The Green Screen kits are one of those resources. These kits will help us in detecting foreign substances in a person’s body and the test will be analyzed by SLED’s lab. These results can then be used in court to prove the same,” he continued.
Green Screen kits are equipped with a blood and urine collection kit, a consent form and an advocacy booklet to guide victims of drink tampering through the process while providing critical health and legal information. Testing must be conducted within 48 hours for blood samples and 120 hours for urine to yield accurate results.
Unlike commonly used drink spike tests, which are limited to detecting substances such as methamphetamine and fentanyl, Green Screen kits are more reliable and comprehensive, Campos explained.
“The contents of the Green Screen … helps victims track critical information while understanding the crime, how it affects their health, and options for next steps,” the organization that promotes the usage of Green Screen kits, Surviving Assault Standing Strong Go, states on their webpage.
Although the kit is comprehensive, it mandates police involvement and will send the results of tests directly to the police. Currently, only one lab tests these kits in South Carolina, and results take four to six weeks on average to complete.
To receive a Green Screen kit, students must request one from the police or Redfern Health Center on campus.
Green Screen kits are currently used in DUI investigations and have a much higher level of accuracy in comparison to the drink spiking tests that are given out by Clemson Panhellenic, according to Campos.
Additionally, Campos addressed concerns that arose during the meeting regarding the fact that the completed test results were directly reported to the police. He said that the police are more focused on figuring out whether there are assailants spiking drinks rather than trying to catch underage drinkers to give out underage alcohol violations.
Although no confirmed drink spiking cases have officially been reported by the police, the introduction of Green Screen kits provides a new proactive approach to safeguarding the Clemson community. Clemson Panhellenic is planning to commence fundraising efforts to offset the costs of these kits, which will help ensure accessibility for students and the broader community.
