2008 Woodie Awards
Resident Life won't ease pot penalties
Kristi Tousignant
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: News
Despite pleas from the RHA and SSDP, Resident Life Director Deb Grandner said yesterday she won't reduce penalties for smoking marijuana.
Grandner said, however, talks with both organizations have elicited more sympathy from her, and she plans to examine those appeals from students who are caught with drugs more closely than those who receive other RHA violations.
"We want to look at individual circumstances so that, on appeal, that person might be allowed to stay here," Grandner said.
The decision comes after the RHA passed a resolution in February recommending reduced punishments compared with the current drug policy, which results in immediate housing termination for residents who are caught with marijuana in their rooms. A coalition of students has gathered throughout the year in support of the resolution, including members of the Student Government Association and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.
Grandner says that a reduction in consequences for marijuana possession as a safety risk. She also says she fears that it would result in guns in dorms and drug dealers on the campus.
"My primary role is protecting the community," Grandner said. "The teaching part is secondary to that. It's not that I'm saying that people who try marijuana are bad people, because they are not. We've got this crime on the periphery of campus and I want to keep it that way."
RHA President-elect Sumner Handy was disappointed, saying he wanted to see more concrete changes in actual policy after a year of advocacy on the issue.
"I hoped for more," Handy said. "I hoped to see a policy change. I wanted more than a look at second chances. I really wanted to see something in writing"
Though RHA has no official plans to continue to advocate for change in the marijuana policy, Handy said he was sure that it would remain an issue for the organization.
Grandner said a decrease in the severity of the consequences will send the wrong message to students.
Grandner said, however, talks with both organizations have elicited more sympathy from her, and she plans to examine those appeals from students who are caught with drugs more closely than those who receive other RHA violations.
"We want to look at individual circumstances so that, on appeal, that person might be allowed to stay here," Grandner said.
The decision comes after the RHA passed a resolution in February recommending reduced punishments compared with the current drug policy, which results in immediate housing termination for residents who are caught with marijuana in their rooms. A coalition of students has gathered throughout the year in support of the resolution, including members of the Student Government Association and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.
Grandner says that a reduction in consequences for marijuana possession as a safety risk. She also says she fears that it would result in guns in dorms and drug dealers on the campus.
"My primary role is protecting the community," Grandner said. "The teaching part is secondary to that. It's not that I'm saying that people who try marijuana are bad people, because they are not. We've got this crime on the periphery of campus and I want to keep it that way."
RHA President-elect Sumner Handy was disappointed, saying he wanted to see more concrete changes in actual policy after a year of advocacy on the issue.
"I hoped for more," Handy said. "I hoped to see a policy change. I wanted more than a look at second chances. I really wanted to see something in writing"
Though RHA has no official plans to continue to advocate for change in the marijuana policy, Handy said he was sure that it would remain an issue for the organization.
Grandner said a decrease in the severity of the consequences will send the wrong message to students.
Submit a letter to the editor or post a comment below.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Micah Daigle
posted 5/03/07 @ 1:06 PM EST
Where's the rest of the story?
k
posted 5/03/07 @ 1:09 PM EST
This has gone beyond an issue about marijuana. This is about the administration listening to the student opinion. The 65% SGA referendum, the RHA bill, and the SGA bill all demonstrate student support for the reclassifying of marijuana possession from an A-level offense (it currently is classified alongside rape, assult, murder, etc. (Continued…)
Edward
posted 8/30/07 @ 6:51 PM EST
From the sound of the quotes in this article, Grandner doesn't so much have an evidence-based belief that the present marijuana policy is what's best for students, as a fear of social pressure in the event of a policy change. (Continued…)
Uncle Rico
posted 8/31/07 @ 7:57 PM EST
This is Resident Life. Once they dig in, the only way to get them to change is to give them a political scare.
Some of the idiotic things Resident Life has done in the past purely out of political fear:
- Mid-1990s: Refused to get involved with escalating problems on the South Hill basketball courts, which most South Hill residents hated, for fear of the political message it might send. (Continued…)
Post a Comment