RESOLUTION REDUCING POT PENALTIES FAILS IN RHA

The RHA overwhelmingly failed a bill to reduce penalties for marijuana
use last night, signaling an end to the first in a wave of similar
resolutions set to appear before various university governing bodies
in the upcoming months.

The proposed legislation would have thrown the group's public support
behind an SGA referendum that favored reducing punishments for
marijuana users but was rejected because some senators considered it
to be too broad and poorly researched, said Residence Hall Association
Director of Public Relations Alex Lockwood.

Under the current policy, first-time offenders are hit with an
automatic suspension, loss of on-campus housing and a mandatory
two-year enrollment in a substance-abuse prevention program.

Under the RHA's proposed changes, authored by RHA Vice President
Sumner Handy, these students would have only received a citation and a
warning. Additionally, Resident Assistants would no longer be trained
to call police in the event that they suspected use or possession of
the drug.

Lockwood said despite the results of last spring's referendum - a
public opinion poll in which 65 percent of 4,376 participants voted in
favor of reducing discipline imposed on marijuana users - the RHA
lacked credible evidence to show student support of the resolution.
RHA senators argued that the referendum was not scientifically
conducted and therefore couldn't be generalized to the entire student
population.

At the meeting's conclusion, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy
President Stacia Cosner, who helped the RHA draft the resolution,
immediately left the room. The more than 20 other SSDP members who
also attended the meeting followed.

"I feel that people needed to be more informed," she said. "If the
debate would have continued, I really think it would have passed."

SGA officials said they recognize the difficulty of changing the issue
because of its sensitivity among many administrators. The SGA is
planning to propose a bill that allows students to stay in campus
housing after being caught using the drug, SGA President Emma Simson
said.

The SSDP proposal, which will appear before the University Senate
before the end of the semester, aims to change the wording in the Code
of Student Conduct where the first-time possession of the drug is
currently listed as an "aggravated offense," lumping it with other
penalties that include hate crimes, arson and sexual assault.

"We're still going to press on," Cosner said. "We're not going to stop
because of the RHA. We'll continue the debate until people are fully
informed."