cannabisnews.com: Student Group Waiting To See OU's Next Step on Pot





Student Group Waiting To See OU's Next Step on Pot
Posted by CN Staff on September 30, 2002 at 07:54:36 PT
By Jim Phillips, Athens News Senior Writer
Source: Athens News
No definite date has yet been set for the first meeting of the new school year by Ohio University's Review and Standards Committee. The committee is in the midst of reviewing proposed amendments to OU's Student Code of Conduct, including a controversial stiffening of penalties for student possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Contacted Sept. 20, Richard Carpinelli, OU assistant vice president for student affairs, reported that he expected the Review and Standards Committee to convene "sometime in the next several weeks," but had not yet scheduled the meeting.A student group that organized opposition to stiffening the university's pot penalties, meanwhile, is satisfied that its efforts at publicizing the issue have succeeded in making sure no changes will be made in the conduct code without sufficient input from students."My impression is that (Carpinelli) is not going to go ahead and try to slip this through without letting the students know, because that didn't work too well the last time," said Meredith Long, vice president of OU's Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) on Sunday.Last spring quarter, committee officials announced that they planned to hold a public meeting before the summer break, in order to allow interested parties to offer public input on any changes to OU's student conduct rules regarding pot. In late May, however, Carpinelli informed committee members that he wasn't able to work such a meeting into his schedule, and it would not take place until after classes resumed for fall quarter.In late 2001, the committee had revealed that it was close to voting on proposed changes to the code of conduct, including an amendment that would increase the potential disciplinary penalties for students caught with small amounts of marijuana. Reportedly, the committee, which includes student members, was ready to recommend to the OU Board of Trustees that marijuana possession be increased from a class B to a class A offense, with a maximum penalty of expulsion. The current penalty is disciplinary probation, which can mean suspension if probation is violated.When word got out about the proposed changes to the marijuana rules, however, many students, led by SSDP, quickly mobilized to delay, and if possible derail, the committee's vote. Long said she believes the ability of the group to quickly spread the news on the proposed changes, and line up opposition support among both students and faculty, helped to push the committee to delay the vote and open up its decision-making process. Supporters of SSDP's position, she said, include some individual members of OU Student Senate and numerous faculty members.The student concerns prompted the committee to postpone voting on the conduct code changes. Committee members met with SSDP representatives, and promised to schedule public meetings to allow students and other interested parties to offer their input on the proposed amendments.Long said that currently SSDP is not communicating further with the committee regarding the content of the proposed conduct code changes, but is waiting to offer input at the public meeting. "We're not dealing with it hands-on now," she explained. "Because we've managed to stop (the vote), and that was our goal."Punishment for marijuana possession is not the only topic under consideration by the Review and Standards Committee. Also being discussed are proposed changes in the appeals process of OU Judiciaries, which handles disciplinary cases, and clearly distinguishing conduct code violations involving harm to oneself (by excessive drinking, for example) from those involving harm to others.SSDP has scheduled a "Know Your Rights" educational event for students on Wednesday, at 9 p.m. in Baker Center's 1954 Room, with attorney David Baer, director of the Center for Student Advocacy.Complete Title: Student Group Waiting To See OU's Next Step on Pot Rules Source: Athens News, The (OH)Author: Jim Phillips, Athens News Senior Writer Published: September 30, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Athens NewsContact: news athensnews.comWebsite: http://www.athensnews.com/SSDPhttp://www.ssdp.org/CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by krutch on September 30, 2002 at 10:34:28 PT:
Vote with your purse strings
I urge all students who think this policy is as stupid as I do to boycott Ohio University. They don't deserve your education dollars. 
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