SURVEY SHOWS USC STUDENT DRUG USE DOWN

Students from all over Columbia took part in Red Ribbon Week festivities on
the State House steps at noon Monday. The kickoff celebration was meant to
show South Carolina's commitment to drug-abuse prevention, and it ended
with students signing pledges to be drug-free.

Illegal drugs have been a nationwide problem for decades, and the National
Red Ribbon Campaign, founded to honor the memory of a DEA special agent
tortured and killed by a Mexican drug cartel, seeks to eradicate, or at
least lessen, the effects of illegal drug usage. The annual campaign is
only one example of the campaign's efforts.

It is understood that no place is completely devoid of drug problems, but
how prevalent are drugs at USC?

According to the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, administered to a random
sample of USC students each semester by a national company in Illinois, use
appears to be declining.

The survey indicates that in fall 2002, 12.6 percent of the students were
current marijuana users and 5.4 percent used drugs other than marijuana on
a regular basis. However, in spring 2003, the percentage of marijuana users
dropped to 6.3 percent, while 4.9 percent used other drugs.

Whereas marijuana and cocaine use dropped among students, the usage of
amphetamines during the spring increased, going from 2.7 percent of
students to 4.4 percent.

Despite less usage of illegal drugs on campus, 50 percent of students
surveyed in spring 2003 thought that the average student on campus uses
illegal drugs at least once a week, compared to only 45 percent in fall 2002.

Ninety percent reported in the spring survey that they would prefer not to
use illegal drugs while at parties.

Carmela Carr, director of USC's Drug and Alcohol Programs, says USC is
below the national average when it comes to illegal drug usage.

Of 93,679 college students surveyed, the study revealed that over a 30-day
period, 19 percent used marijuana, 1.6 percent used cocaine and 3 percent
used amphetamines.

USC is only above the national average pertaining to amphetamine usage.

The University's Law Enforcement and Safety Department is also seeking to
stop illegal drugs on campus.

"We do the best job we can to have a safe community," said Ernest Ellis,
the department's director. "What I have seen over the years is that USC is
no different from any other campus of its size and location."

Ellis explained that even though the department doesn't have a separate
drug unit, the officers are "very committed" to drug enforcement and take a
"very serious approach to drug use."

Anytime leads are divulged to the department, "the information is followed
to the end. No information is overlooked," he said.

USC Law Enforcement also receives a grant that allows the department to pay
overtime to officers who educate students through programs and presentations.

"We will never turn our back on drug enforcement," Ellis said.