PROVIDENCE, R.I. � One of two Brown University students who drank an alcoholic punch at a fraternity party at Sears House on Oct. 17 has tested positive for a common date-rape drug, the university announced in a campus-wide email late Saturday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. � One of two Brown University students who drank an alcoholic punch at a fraternity party at Sears House on Oct. 17 has tested positive for a common date-rape drug, the university announced in a campus-wide email late Saturday.

The student�s test indicated the presence of GHB (gamma hydroxybutrate); a test conducted on the second student is pending, reads the letter from Margaret Klawunn, vice president for Campus Life and Student Services at Brown.

�GHB is a colorless, ordorless drug that can be hard to detect in a drink,� the notice states, �but has a strong sedative effect that is incapacitating.��

GHB, which sometimes goes by the street name Liquid Ecstasy, has a history of being abused because of its euphoric and calming effects, according to information from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. GHB became popular among teenagers and young adults at dance clubs and �raves� during the 1990s and later gained notoriety as a date-rape drug.

The students who drank the punch at the Brown chapter of Phi Kappa Psi � the only fraternity at Sears House � reported �a rapid onset of intoxication,� beyond what would be expected for the amount they had to drink, and �memory loss for a significant period of time,� according an earlier campus-wide notice sent by Klawunn.

Brown has said that it suspended the fraternity which hosted the Oct. 17 event, the email states.

The federal Clery Act requires colleges to issue timely campus alerts about crimes as a security precaution. In the past, alerts at colleges generally have focused on robberies, car thefts and other property crimes. But recently the federal guidance to colleges has included �credible reports� of date-rape drugs as representing an ongoing threat to the campus community which should be considered �as a reason for the timely warning.

Brown has advised students who have any information about the suspected use of a date-rape drug or the sexual assault to contact Sgt. John Carvalho at the Brown University Department of Public Safety, (401) 863-3322.

CORRECTION: �A street name for GHB was reported incorrectly in the initial version of this post.