KSU CITES NEW HOUSING IN DRUG, ALCOHOL OFFENSES

KENNESAW - After its first year with student housing, Kennesaw State
University officials admit that drug and alcohol offenses have shot up on
campus - but they also say that just goes with the territory when students
live on campus 24-7.

"I think on any college campus, you are going to have to deal with issues of
alcohol, of homesickness, of drugs," said Amy Wrye, director of student life
at KSU. "Overall, we are thrilled it has gone this well so far."

For the first 36 years of its existence, KSU operated exclusively as a
commuter campus, meaning students lived elsewhere and traveled back and
forth to the university each day. But last fall, the school opened the new
"University Place" student housing complex, the school's first effort toward
becoming a 24-hour campus.

During the school year that followed, the KSU Judiciary Department - which
handles student disciplinary hearings - reported 99 alcohol-related
offenses, 10 drug-related offenses and 17 offenses related to a combination
of drugs and alcohol. Most of the alcohol offenses related to underage
drinking, and most drug offenses were related to marijuana use, said
Director of Judiciary Programs Diane Walker.

In all, the offenses account for about 10 percent of the 1,040 students
living on campus.

By comparison, KSU had no offenses in any of the three categories during the
2001-2002 school year.

In terms of total student judicial hearings, Ms. Walker said her department
handled 50 during the 2001-2002 school year, most of them related to
academic misconduct. The number of judicial hearings at the university grew
to 138 the following school year, after the opening of the student housing,
with most of those related to drugs and alcohol.

The hearings also dealt with a variety of other offenses related to students
living on campus. One student was found with a handgun in his apartment.
Another got in trouble after waving around a sword in a courtyard, and one
student was found with a gun that launches potatoes.

Ms. Wrye attributes the increase in incidents to the effects of students
living on campus. She also said that since only about 1,000 of the 15,600
students at KSU live on campus, the numbers are still lower than at other
large state schools.

"We are still a commuter campus, so most activities are still centered away
from campus," Ms. Wrye said.

The $70 million student housing complex opened to much fanfare last August
in a ceremony featuring then Gov. Roy Barnes, KSU President Dr. Betty Siegel
and Georgia Board of Regents Chancellor Tom Meredith. The collection of 11
apartment-style buildings were dubbed by the university as a "living,
learning community," complete with fountains and a community clubhouse with
a bell tower.

Cobblestone walkways run through the middle of the community, and a
clubhouse in the center of the complex features a computer lab and
activities center. Each bedroom is also wired with a high-speed Internet
connection.

University officials also frown upon any reference to the complex as being
"dorms."

The 700 students live at University Place, which was built and is managed
for the university by Place Properties. The other 300 students on campus
live in KSU Place, an apartment complex next to campus bought and renovated
by the university.

Atlanta-based Place Properties has designed similar student housing for
about 25 schools throughout the country.

Helping to maintain order at the new housing are a staff 26 resident
advisors who act as supervisors over students. The RAs receive free rent on
campus, as well as a stipend of $55 a week.

RA Tyler Fishback, a senior at KSU, said her residents at University Place
have enjoyed their first year experiencing traditional campus life.

"I think most are pretty happy about it," she said.