TWO ARRESTED ON HASH WEDNESDAY

Two students were arrested outside the south doors of the Illini Union for
marijuana possession on Wednesday, as people gathered on the Quad for Hash
Wednesday, a long-standing annual protest of laws that prohibit marijuana
possession and use.

Michael Andrade, a sophomore in LAS, was arrested for having more than 2
1/2 grams of marijuana. Stephen Wika, also a sophomore in LAS, was arrested
for having less than 2 1/2 grams.

The students were found by University police with marijuana in plain view,
said Sgt. Anthony Brown. Both were released later in the day. Several
others had their possessions searched in connection with the incident.

"They searched four bags, but only one guy was seen messing with herb,"
said John Wendt, a junior in ACES who witnessed the arrest. "It was kind of
bogus, but they did have it out."

Supporters of Hash Wednesday said that the arrestees reflect badly on the
event, which is meant to be a civil protest.

"It's going to get read wrong," said Al Tobiaski, senior in LAS. "These
people had nothing to do with what the organizers of Hash Wednesday had in
mind."

The event, which falls on the third Wednesday in April, has been around
since the late 1970s. Ryo Yamaguchi, sophomore in LAS, said that while
attendance has dwindled in recent years, the cause is still the same. He
said that people come out to the Quad to protest the prohibition of
marijuana use.

"I think a lot of people in America are OK with marijuana," Yamaguchi said.
"It's a ridiculous law."

Hash Wednesday began as both a celebration and a protest, said Bruce
Bethell, a graduate teaching assistant. Bethell was an undergraduate
student in 1978 when the first Hash Wednesday was held on campus.

"We just put signs up and people showed," he said, standing next to a pair
of bongo drums. "People just came and were hanging out. There were hundreds."

Bethell said that in later years, students published a letter in The Daily
Illini explaining that Hash Wednesday was not about just smoking pot. It
was a campus-wide protest of laws, he said.

During Bethell's time as an undergraduate student, the event was more
widely supported. While only dozens showed up this year, he said that in
the past, students would set up tents and party while protesting, leaving
little room to sit.

"When it happened, there were enough people that they couldn't do anything
about it," Bethell said. "The civil disobedience was on a large enough scale."

Bethell described this year's showing as "pathetic." He said that today's
laws makes many students to afraid to show up.

"Did you know that you can get a life sentence for marijuana?" Bethell
asked. "That's why so few people are here."

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws also had
representatives on the Quad. Emily Sunderman, senior in LAS, stood passing
out flyers and collecting signatures for petitions. Sunderman said the two
petitions are for the legalization of medical marijuana and industrial hemp.

"Marijuana awareness -- that's what today is all about," Sunderman said.

She stood amid signs reading "Happy Hash Wednesday" and "Serve No Time for
Victimless Crime." Sunderman said that she was also pushing for at least
decriminalization, if not legalization, of marijuana as a secondary goal.

Bethell said another reason why Hash Wednesday was bigger in the past was
that marijuana carried a more lenient fine. Getting caught with marijuana
used to carry fear equivalent to getting caught speeding, he said.

For the most part, the day consisted of socializing among friends on the
Quad. University police Officer Chris Burke said that while he knew people
were smoking pot, only the two had been arrested.

"Every now and then you catch the waft of the herb," Burke said.

Many students sat in circles playing bongos, clapping their hands and
listening to the music. Jesse Seuring, junior in LAS, said he came out to
have a good time.

"These kinds of people seem very united and friendly," Seuring said.

Seuring sat atop a drum playing along with a group of people. He said he
came to the Quad for the music and culture that he finds appealing.

"It's more like a protest where you show people what your culture is all
about and let them decide for themselves," Seuring said.