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. - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel