UNIVERSITY FEELS AFTER-EFFECTS OF STUDENT'S COCAINE-RELATED ARREST

The arrest of a Tufts student earlier this month for cocaine trafficking
has left his future hanging as administrators and students grapple with the
implications of a cocaine culture abruptly brought into the spotlight.

On Tuesday, April 12, senior Marcus Mattingly, 23, was pulled over by
Massachusetts State Troopers on Route 16 in Medford for driving an
unregistered motor vehicle. At this time, State Troopers discovered 200
grams of cocaine, a significant amount of cash and drug paraphernalia in
the car Mattingly was driving.

After obtaining a search warrant, the police discovered an additional 80
grams of cocaine as well as more cash and drug paraphernalia in Mattingly's
campus residence, the Delta Upsilon (DU) fraternity house on Professor's
Row. According to a press release from the Middlesex County District
Attorney's office, the 280 grams of confiscated cocaine was valued in
excess of $25,000.

Mattingly was arraigned in connection with drug trafficking before Judge
Allen Jarasitis of the Somerville District Court on April 13. He entered a
plea of not guilty and was held on $10,000 cash bail.

Mattingly posted bail and attended a pre-trial conference on May 11. A
second pre-trial is now scheduled for June 8, at which time a court date
may be set.

According to Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, no disciplinary action will
occur through the Dean of Students Office because the investigation was
conducted by the State Police.

"This is something that the state and federal government have defined laws
about, [it] wasn't campus policy that really came into play," he said.

Because any court proceedings will not happen until after the conclusion of
this semester, Reitman said that Mattingly's status at the University is
pending and awaiting the outcome of the proceedings. "[Should a] felony
conviction be made of campus, that individual is not eligible to be [on
campus]," Reitman said.

Due to his pending status with the University, Reitman said Mattingly "is
not eligible to receive a degree at this time."

If convicted, Mattingly faces a minimum of 16 and maximum of 20 years of
jail time.

According to arresting officer Richard Iwanicki, Mattingly was pulled over
for a motor vehicle violation. But Iwanicki was unable to comment on how
police found the cocaine in the car following the stop.

To Iwanicki's eye, "the likelihood of a conviction looks pretty good."

Iwanicki said drug trafficking violations are "pretty common," though "[not
to the extent] of what [Mattingly] had on him." Iwanicki said that most
drug trafficking takes place "more towards the city area."

According to Thomas J. Barrett, an attorney who practices criminal defense
law in Salem, Mass., it is "not a given that [a defendant in a case like
Mattingly's] will be convicted."

According to Barrett, "there's a whole line of defenses he has, that
everyone has."

A defense lawyer, Barrett said, would first "want to explore whether the
police acted permissibly in obtaining the drugs and whether they violated
his constitutional rights, which includes freedom from unreasonable
searches and seizures."

Other factors must be considered in a conviction, Barrett said, "whether or
not he did possess the drugs, whether he stored them with the intent to
sell, or strictly for personal use."

"These aren't necessarily just technicalities, it's very fundamental
stuff," Barrett said. "He has a defense."

Barrett did say, however, that drug trafficking cases of this magnitude are
relatively rare.

A high-level drug trafficking case, Barrett said, is one of the most severe
cases of drug distribution and drug possession, carrying a minimum
mandatory sentence of 15 years. According to Barrett, such a conviction
"implies that the person is a drug dealer on a pretty large scale."

Although cocaine was seized in the DU fraternity house, DU president
sophomore Brian Rowe confirmed that the fraternity was not associated with
the arrest and would not suffer disciplinary consequences. "[The
administration understands that] it's his problem, not ours," Rowe said.
"From the standpoint of the fraternity it was definitely fair because we
haven't felt any backlash at all."

According to Rowe, Mattingly has been evicted from his room and expelled
from the fraternity.

"[Mattingly is] a good guy, and very friendly, but he likes to keep to
himself a lot," Rowe said. "Between work and class it was hard to get to
know him really well."

Rowe said that Mattingly, as a brother, "didn't spend a lot of the time in
the house" and his first floor room was relatively secluded.

"The difficult part is the [resulting discussion among] students on
campus," Rowe said. "They say that he was selling to everyone in the house
and that is completely untrue."

Mattingly's arrest does not necessarily imply a surge in cocaine use at
Tufts, but rather represents a rare window into an enduring drug culture
that has remained, for the most part, hidden.

This fall, Tufts conducted a survey assessing alcohol and drug use within
its population. According to Margot Abels, Director of Drug and Alcohol
Prevention services, 8.6 percent of Tufts students reported having ever
used cocaine.

"Eight-point-six is low compared to most campuses," Reitman said. "I
suppose to the extent that it's good news, it's a good thing."

Tufts also ranks behind national averages of cocaine use. Fifteen percent
of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 have used cocaine in their
lifetime, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration's 2003 National Study on Drug Use and Health, shifting
trends in cocaine usage may reflect changing preferences or availability of
other drugs, she said, such as ecstasy or hallucinogens, or increased binge
drinking.

"Since the mid-'80s there has been a decrease, generally, in cocaine use,"
Abels said.

While cocaine usage did not top the list of drug policy priorities, Abels
said that "judicial responses, services such as counseling and treatment,
prevention, education, family support and social marketing for
environmental change" could help cope with solving drug problems.

Reitman said it was unlikely that the arrest would result in any change in
current campus drug policy, since the investigation occurred under the
jurisdiction of the state police.

Yet one student questioned whether any preventive drug policy at Tufts
could be effective. "What Tufts policy makers and police don't realize is
that the kids who want to be using drugs will find them."

A further crackdown, the student said, would only yield additional
backlash. "I'm concerned that this drug bust and several other incidents of
increased police activity could have a negative effect on night life and
continue to generate bad publicity," he said.

Student views on cocaine use - particularly from users - were difficult to
solicit due to the sensitive nature of the topic, but those students who
agreed to speak anonymously shed some light on the cocaine culture on campus.

Interviews were conducted both with students who had used cocaine and with
close acquaintances of such students.

According to interviewees, the cocaine culture appears to lack much of the
social nature of widespread alcohol use. One student said he would "not
openly" discuss his cocaine use. "The stigma is too great," he said.

"It's definitely under wraps unless for some reason you see it," another
student said. "That's one of the biggest things, to keep it under wraps."

Students interviewed confirmed that cocaine use rarely occurred on its own
but as an addition to the pre-existing party culture of alcohol, marijuana
or other drugs.

"It's definitely not just cocaine, it's really everything," one student said.

Interviews confirmed that Mattingly appeared to be a popular source for
cocaine for the Tufts campus.

In spite of potential legal and health problems, these students did not
necessarily view their cocaine use as problematic.

One periodic user would "probably do it again," he said. "If you can be
smart about using it, taking care so that in doesn't become an addiction, I
don't think it is as bad of a drug as everyone makes it out to be."

One student said that to some, an intense party culture marked by cocaine
use was a boon to certain fun-seeking students. "I think many kids feel
some sort of pride that a drug dealer of that magnitude operated at Tufts,"
the student said. "And this drug bust has improved their opinion of Tufts'
'coolness.'"