H-SC STRESSES ZERO-TOLERANCE DRUG POLICY

Officials Are Spreading Anti-Drug Message Since Student Arrests In April

For Hampden-Sydney College, to steal a line from Charles Dickens,
April was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Founded in 1775, the school boasts it is the 10th-oldest college in
the U.S. and one of only three four-year, all-male liberal arts
colleges in the country.

On April 10, The Times-Dispatch ran a front-page article about how
the school is thriving, having welcomed its largest enrollment and
largest freshman class.

The next day, seven Hampden-Sydney students were arrested on federal
drug distribution charges after a months-long investigation. The
Drug Enforcement Administration, Virginia State Police, Virginia
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Prince Edward County
Sheriff's Department and Farmville Police Department were involved
in the investigation.

David Klein, the school's dean of students, suspended the men
pending the outcome of their cases. Five pleaded guilty to federal
charges; one was found guilty of two counts and not guilty of a
third charge and is appealing his verdict. A jury found the seventh
man not guilty.

Not surprisingly, the arrests would become major news and would
prove an embarrassment for the school.

Prince Edward County Commonwealth's Attorney James R. Ennis has said
he has no doubt there is a problem with controlled substances on the campus.

"If you've got . . . DEA, the U.S. attorney, Prince Edward
authorities [involved], you've probably got a problem," he said.

In April 1994, a drug task force including representatives from the
sheriff's departments in Prince Edward, Lunenburg and Charlotte
counties arrested and charged two Hampden-Sydney College students
with selling cocaine, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms from
their dormitory room. Charges against both men were amended, and
they ended up on probation, one for two years and the other for three years.

Klein said there is no way to determine the amount of cocaine and
other drugs on campus, though through the years the nation's
colleges and universities have seen drug use grow from mostly
alcohol in the 1970s to include cocaine in the 1980s and 1990s and
the abuse of prescription drugs today.

But the most common drug at Hampden-Sydney, as is the case across
the country, is still alcohol "without question," Klein said.

The school requires its freshmen to take a several-hours-long online
program about alcohol and its effects.

"The information we got suggests the course does encourage the
students to think about the choices they are making and to
[consider] intervening in a friend's choices," Klein said. "We are
delighted with that."

The school is looking for similar programs for marijuana and cocaine, he said.

Since April, college officials have been emphasizing their
zero-tolerance drug policy to students.

Exhibit A, Klein noted, is the student handbook, complete with a
large zero on the cover.

At the beginning of the fall semester, Klein and President Walter M.
Bortz III spoke to the students and their parents. The meetings,
Klein said, "were to say, 'This is what happened last April 11, and
you can't do that here. If you do, we're going to deal with you.'"

The school has also brought in speakers to reinforce the anti-drug
message and is making sure students know they have access to
counseling services and that staff members are there to talk to.

The school is also pushing student leaders, such as class and
organization officers and resident advisors, to monitor activities
and head off any problems, as well as stressing its honor code and
code of student conduct.

Ultimately, Klein said, the point is for students to step up and
police themselves and be responsible.

"We choose not to establish marshal law," he said, noting that if
the school sent police officers to search rooms, it would lose the
trust of the vast majority of students who abide by the rules.

"If we give freedom and then help them learn how choices impact
their lives, then they have learned more."