Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jan 2002
Source: Athens News, The (OH)
Copyright: 2002, Athens News
Contact:  http://www.athensnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603
Author: Kim Kiracofe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

COMMITTEE CONSIDERING POT CRACKDOWN HEARS STUDENT CONCERNS

Ohio University's Review and Standards Committee on Monday listened to 
arguments from a student group that's fighting an OU proposal to enact 
harsher drug penalties on campus.

Jessica Markwood, president of OU's chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug 
Policy (SSDP), and Abby Bair, vice president of the chapter, spoke during 
the Review and Standards Committee meeting in Baker Center.

"The meeting was productive and turned into a roundtable discussion of the 
pros and cons for amending the Code of Conduct," Bair reported. The two 
SSDP leaders spoke against the "closed voting" procedures used by the 
Review and Standards Committee and also recommended that an SSDP member be 
added to the committee, Bair added.

Members in attendance included Richard Carpinelli, chair of the Review and 
Standards Committee and Vice President for Student Affairs; Judy Piercy, 
director of OU Judiciaries; Joe Burke, director of Residence Life; an OU 
professor; Student Senate President Jim Hintz; and another representative 
from Residence Life, according to Bair.

"The Review and Standards Committee (meeting) was devoted solely to hearing 
from SSDP," Piercy said of the meeting on Monday. "We listened and then all 
engaged in a discussion about the issues, sharing viewpoints."

Another issue at the meeting was SSDP's objection to a proposal to make 
possession of drug paraphernalia a Class A offense in the Student Code of 
Conduct. Class A violations have a maximum penalty of expulsion, whereas 
lesser Class B violations, which currently cover paraphernalia and 
marijuana possession, have a maximum penalty of disciplinary probation.

The stricter marijuana penalty is the main thing that has prompted protests 
among some students, including the SSDP, though their concerns aren't 
confined to that.

"We voiced our opposition to (including drug paraphernalia) on the basis 
that it is incredibly difficult to distinguish what is or is not 
paraphernalia," Bair said. "The paraphernalia part of the amendment has the 
potential to affect even more lives than the marijuana part of the 
amendment. They are the same amendment."

SSDP had hoped to have a solidified coalition of student organizations to 
present at the Monday meeting, but were unable to complete all the 
necessary networking, Bair said.

"SSDP is in the process of forming the coalition and hopes to invite 
organizations to sign on in the next month," Bair said. "We will invite all 
campus organizations to sign on to the coalition, including Student Senate, 
Faculty Senate, sororities, fraternities, Habitat for Humanity, etc."

The group does not foresee the Review and Standards Committee taking action 
before a coalition can be formed. Bair observed, "The committee is still in 
the 'thinking phase', and I do not expect a vote to be made (on sending the 
proposed amendments to the Board of Trustees) in the near future."

Also proposed at the meeting by SSDP was a public forum to involve students 
and faculty in the decisions on amending Code of Conduct. This way students 
and faculty can express their concerns and have questions answered, SSDP 
members argued.

"I am imagining a discussion similar to what took place today, except it 
will be public and there will be a Q&A opportunity for concerned students 
and faculty," Bair said.

The meeting on Monday was closed to outsiders, despite a request from SSDP 
and an earlier request from The Athens NEWS to keep the committee's 
meetings open. In responding to the newspaper's past queries about ad hoc 
committee meetings, OU has said that in most cases these committees are not 
"decision-making bodies" as defined by Ohio law, and as such don't need to 
hold open meetings.

The Athens NEWS has argued in the past that university-appointed committees 
discussing and voting on business of importance to the campus and/or 
community should hold open meetings under the state's Sunshine Law. While 
the standards committee doesn't have a final vote on amending the Code of 
Conduct, its members do vote on recommendations to the president and Board 
of Trustees.

Referring to Monday's meeting, Bair said, "We asked that the meeting be 
open to the public to assure democracy and accountability, but Carpinelli 
and other members believe that it is more difficult to hold honest 
discussion if the meeting is open."

Piercy of OU said earlier this week that the committee has not made any 
decision yet on when the vote on the Code of Conduct amendments will take 
place. "I believe the next step will be to process and discuss the issue 
again as a committee and see where we stand," Piercy said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth