Pubdate: Thu, 04 Sep 2008
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright: 2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact:  http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408
Author: Amy Rolph
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

STUDENT SUES SEATTLE CENTRAL OVER MARIJUANA CONFESSION

A 16-year-old Running Start student is suing Seattle  Central
Community College claiming she was kicked out  of school after being
coerced into signing a statement  related to marijuana possession.

The student is asking her suspension be reversed,  alleging the
statement she signed was false -- and that  the college's campus
security officers acted  inappropriately by forcing her admission of
guilt.

The lawsuit, filed late last month on behalf of Whitney  Williams and
her mother, states that Seattle Central  security officers smelled
marijuana near Williams and  two friends a block and a half from the
Capitol Hill  campus last April. The officers asked the students to
come to the security office, where they found a bag of  marijuana in
Williams' book bag.

The security officers denied Williams the chance make a  phone call,
instead insisting that she draft a  confessional statement, the
lawsuit alleges.

"At this point, Whitney was crying and begging these  men to allow her
to speak with her mother by phone  before she drafted any statement,"
court documents  state.

After she wrote the statement, an officer said she  couldn't call her
mother until she added text, which he  dictated, according to the lawsuit.

Court documents to not indicate what was included in  the
statement.

Williams, a Bainbridge Island resident, attended  Seattle Central as a
Running Start student, meaning she  received both high school and
college credit for  classes.

According to documents, the statement led to the  16-year-old being
effectively expelled until after her  high school graduation. Williams
attended a  disciplinary hearing, where she asked for lenience.

"During her hearing, she pleaded with the hearing panel  not to
diminish her pursuit of higher educational  options," court documents
say. "As Whitney put it,  'Education is my thing.'"

In a letter from Seattle Central President Mildred  Ollee, Williams
was informed she would not be welcome  back at the school this fall.

The letter is quoted: "The final decision is you are  suspended from
enrollment at Seattle Central Community  College until such time that
you graduate from high  school or obtain a GED. Your enrollment for
fall  quarter... will be cancelled and you will need to make  other
arrangements for high school attendance for the  coming year."

Phone calls to the Williams home and a Seattle Central  spokeswoman
were not immediately returned Thursday.

Seattle Central's student code of conduct requires that  students
"refraining from actions that endanger  themselves or others,"
according to a statement on the  college's Web site. What those
actions consist of is  not stipulated online.

That Williams was stopped more than a block from  Seattle Central's
urban campus could point to a larger  trend in higher education.
Around the nation, a growing  number of colleges and universities are
starting to  take a more proactive approach to monitoring off-campus
behavior and neighbors say the efforts are working.

The University of Washington now enforces its campus  behavior code
off campus as well. A student doesn't  need to be charged with a
violent crime to activate the  campus code; being cited for breaking
the city's noise  regulations is enough to score an invite to the
student  conduct office.

Seattle University conducts cyber-patrols of student  activities,
flagging parties advertised on Facebook or  other sites and shutting
those events down when they're  deemed inappropriate.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Steve Heath