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05-07-07|DiamondBack Online

Wednesday's announcement that the Department of Resident Life will not implement the proposed change in residence hall rules for marijuana possession is profoundly disappointing. It would allow lenience in cases of students caught in possession of marijuana so they would not automatically have their housing terminated. This is not a compromise of student democratic power that Students for Sensible Drug Policy is willing to accept, and neither should the Residence Halls Association, the University Senate or the Student Government Association.

The will of the students has been demonstrated through voter referendum (April 2006), the RHA Senate (February 2007) and the SGA (April 2007). This change has been publicly supported by multiple student organizations, as well as by all three SGA presidential candidates, the 2006-2007 SGA executives and Maryland State Delegate Ana Gutierrez. SSDP did not take these actions blindly, but rather we employed careful strategy that followed university student democratic procedures. It is disheartening to see that students are being largely ignored by the administration, especially because opposing arguments are based on misconceptions that tie recreational marijuana use to violent crime.

It is not the intention of this policy change to in any way endorse or allow the use of marijuana on this campus. Is the university endorsing underage alcohol consumption, possession of weapons or smoking in any form in the residence halls by classifying all three of the aforementioned activities as B-level violations? The answer is absolutely not. These acts, including the possession and use of marijuana in the residence halls, are prohibited, and for good reason. The distinction here is to what degree such activities warrant termination of a student's on-campus housing.

Moving marijuana possession from an A-level violation to a B-level violation would allow the standard minimum penalty to be lowered from automatic termination of housing to housing probation (along with other sanctions). The university would still have the authority to impose a harsher sanction on a student caught with marijuana in the dorms if other aggravating factors are present. We are asking that the minimum sanction be lowered so students who have made a mistake are given a second chance instead of falling victim to a zero-tolerance policy enacted in the wake of the Len Bias incident, which was more than two decades ago and did not involve marijuana.

SSDP and other supporters have the same goals and concerns as the administration. We do not want violence, guns or behavior that endangers students' safety on this campus. It is for precisely this reason that the marijuana policy must be changed. All too much of our resources is being spent on seeking out and punishing recreational marijuana users to the fullest extent. We feel the university should be more focused on more serious and outwardly dangerous acts such as sexual assault, assault, robbery and arson. Marijuana possession is prohibited behavior indeed, but should be placed as a lower priority than it currently is.

Beyond the arguments of the danger of marijuana, this is an issue of student democratic power. Times change, and with that, attitudes, behaviors and policies must change. To keep a policy such as this on the record simply to make a statement against drug use is ignorant of the respect students should be granted to handle themselves in a manner that is respectful and responsible to others in their living environment. It is our duty as individuals directly affected by residence hall and other university policies to voice the need for change. We have done so, and in the process we have followed the bureaucratic rules. Therefore, there is no reason we should continue to be ignored.

carlover_36

What did he just say?

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Victor_vicious

He said, we, the students followed all the rules of the 'democratic process' and the administration just said NO. There reasons are bullshit. Things need to change. VV