Marijuana policies at Uconn are a joke

Simply put, weed is something students have to deal with in college. Whether they’ve smoked it before college or have never touched it in their lives, students will almost definitely come in contact with it at some point. There are many people who currently smoke weed at the University of Connecticut, and many of them have been caught with it recently. But frankly, the policies Uconn has in place to deal with these offenses are terrible.

So how does one manage to get caught with weed?  A recent issue involving weed in a residence hall at Uconn began when an RA caught a whiff of the stench of marijuana coming from a room. After the issue had been resolved, the identity of the RA who reported the room was discovered by the accused party. As it turns out, the RA — who will remain nameless for his protection — admitted to sniffing peoples’ doors while conducting rounds. He didn’t report a smell that someone complained to the RA on duty about, nor did he smell it from the hall. Rather, he intentionally put his nose to the accused party’s door and smelled it, without good reason to. This is an invasion of privacy to all people living in the residence hall, as this is a normal activity for the RA in question.  Not only that, but what satisfaction does the RA get from going out of his way to get students in trouble?

So when he smelled weed, what did he do? Called the police, as is Uconn policy for any matter possibly involving weed. A confidant at RPI claimed that in a similar scenario, “Pub safe would have just made them go to a drug safety course.” This means, unlike at Uconn, the police wouldn’t have been involved, and the RA would have just quietly taken care of the issue. Calling the police stirs up a lot of commotion in the hall and takes a large toll on the accused party. The whole situation would be far simpler were the RA simply to write up the accused party. Uconn’s policy on this needs to be changed.

One of the penalties given by the university is a required class about drug safety. This is a good move by the university, as it’s important for students to understand the adverse effects of drug use. However, the class system is extremely inefficient. In order to take the class, the accused party must call Wellness and Prevention and make an appointment.

However, the department has horrific customer service. One accused person, Brian, called twice and received a recorded message saying they could not take the call, even though it was during business hours. Brian finally received a call back a few days later, only to be told that the person on the phone was unqualified to make a decision regarding the accused party’s case. It turns out if both alcohol and marijuana were found in the suspect’s room, they only took the class regarding one of the drugs, and not the other. If it takes so long to schedule the class, it puts the student in jeopardy, because they have a deadline by which they must take it. Also, the class is short, only 2 sessions — can the accused party really learn everything they need to stay clean, as well as all the consequences of using drugs, in just 2 short classes? Doubtful.

The other penalty assigned by the university is a letter home to the student’s parents about the student’s breach of the Alcohol and Other Drug policy, if the student is under 21. Isn’t the age where a person becomes an adult 18, not 21?  The university insists that students are adults and are responsible, yet alerts the student’s parents regardless. This is, frankly, ridiculous. When a student is in college, especially if they live away from home, their parents have almost no say in what the student does, as well as no efficient way to punish them. While the university has the right to send letters to whomever it wishes, they are not legally required to. There is no other reason for the university to send such a letter other than a desire for the student to be punished.

When pot was decriminalized in Connecticut in 2011, the University of Connecticut did not change its policy regarding weed, and has yet to change it. Does the university believe it knows better than our state’s government? The university needs to follow the example the state of Connecticut has given, and change its policy.  Why does the university have in place a policy that punishes students with fines from the police and emotional trauma, yet doesn’t even adequately educate the students on what they’re doing to themselves?  This sort of policy simply leads to angry students who will likely relapse. The university needs to stop punishing students so severely, and instead educate them about their choices.