Pubdate: Mon, 11 Feb 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, Athens News
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n194/a09.html
Cited: Students for a Sensible Drug Policy http://www.ssdp.org

OU COMMITTEE AGAIN DELAYS VOTE ON POT PENALTY PROPOSAL

The Ohio University Review and Standards Committee is taking longer than 
anticipated to vote on amendments to the Student Code of Conduct because of 
concerns over several of the proposals. A proposed amendment that would 
strengthen penalties for marijuana possession on campus has stirred 
opposition among students.

But Richard Carpinelli, assistant vice president of student affairs and 
chair of the committee said Friday that the extra time has been a positive 
factor. Carpinelli said he does not know when the committee will finally 
vote on the amendments to the Code of Conduct, but that they will continue 
discussion on all of the issues.

He said, however, that he hopes the proposals will be sent to Mike 
Sostarich, vice president of student affairs, sometime this quarter. "The 
committee is still debating. This is not a thing I think we can rush," 
Carpinelli said.

Recently, an OU student group that has concerns about the changes, Students 
for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), spoke to the Review and Standards 
Committee in a closed meeting about their concerns. The group has drafted a 
resolution opposing the proposed "zero tolerance" amendment to the code, 
and intends to submit it to Student Senate in the near future.

SSDP's main objection involves an amendment that would change possession of 
non-felony amounts marijuana on campus from a Class B to a Class A offense. 
Currently, students caught with small amounts of marijuana can receive 
penalties up to disciplinary probation. Violators of Class A offenses are 
subject to possible expulsion.

Carpinelli acknowledged that SSDP brought several new points to the 
committee. "Students for a Sensible Drug Policy provided a side of the 
issue that hadn't been considered," he said. "The committee is still 
debating the drug issue."

Because of student feedback, the committee has decided to hold an open 
forum for all students and university employees in order to hear everyone's 
opinion. "We would like to get feedback and then go back to committee and 
discuss their opinions," Carpinelli said.

Carpinelli said he doesn't know when the public forum will be held.

Marijuana penalties are among three main issues that the Review and 
Standards Committee is considering for revision. Changing the appeal setup 
for students who go through the judiciary process is the second main issue. 
Third, the committee is considering an amendment that would separate a code 
violation that covers both harm to oneself (suicide, extreme intoxication) 
and harm to others (assault) into two different violations, one dealing 
with harm to oneself and the other with harm to others.

Most of the other changes to the Code of Conduct are "word smithing" 
changes, Carpinelli said.

Carpinelli said that despite recent criticism, the proposed changes to the 
code are not meant to "scare" students or make punishments more harsh.

"There are high ends and low ends in every case," he said. "In the case of 
illegal drugs, the low end is discovering a marijuana cigarette, and the 
high end could be trafficking cocaine. The intent of making marijuana 
possession a Class A offense is to send the message that OU does not value 
possession of drugs."

Carpinelli maintained that every offense is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

"The crux of the Code of Conduct is so that students can learn as a result 
of interaction with judiciaries what it means to be a responsible citizen 
of the university community," he said.

SSDP had requested a voting seat on the committee, but Carpinelli said it 
would be impossible to include all student groups fairly. "How much 
representation can you have and make a committee still run effectively?" he 
asked.

Carpinelli said he feels the university community is represented well on 
the committee. "I think membership represents a broad constituency, but OU 
is broad and including everyone would be a monumental task," he said.

Abby Bair, a leader of SSDP, said last week that the group has drafted a 
resolution opposing the Review and Standards Committee's "amendment to 
enforce a zero-tolerance policy in Ohio University's student code of conduct.

"The resolution lays out the wrongs of the proposed amendment," she said in 
an e-mail interview on Wednesday. "The solution of the resolution is to 
abolish the amendment."

She said the SSDP plans to present the resolution to Student Senate in the 
near future. "Then we will network with as many student organizations as 
possible to unify students' voices against the resolution."

The group feels that possible expulsion for possession of small amounts of 
marijuana is overkill, and a far harsher penalty than currently exists in 
Ohio criminal law for the same infraction.
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MAP posted-by: Ariel