LIMIT DRUG CRACKDOWN

At his Town Hall meeting on Thursday, President John Sexton announced his
intention to crack down on alcohol abuse, drug dealing and drug use in the
dormitories. "I want to attack aggressively what I believe is a problem in
our community of substance abuse and binge drinking," Sexton said.

Sexton has not yet specified how he intends to implement a more stringent
policy on substance use in the dormitories. Current residence hall policy
states that, "NYU reserves the right, at any time and for any reason, in
its sole discretion, to enter the room without prior notice ... to inspect
for compliance ... with NYU policies or regulations." In the past, this
right was seldom exercised except for regular inspections during winter
break. However, Sexton could use the regulation to authorize random and
more frequent searches of dorm rooms.

While the university has a right to search students' rooms, it also has the
responsibility to respect students' privacy. Were random searches to occur,
as worthy as the cause might be, students would feel unsettled. Regardless
of "guilt" or innocence, students should not have to live with the
possibility of housing officials entering and searching their rooms at any
time.

WSN cannot condone illegal activity in students' dorm rooms. However,
students will not take kindly to a policy that exposes rooms to random
searches, or imposes tough punishments for even the smallest infractions.
We urge Sexton to consider carefully how he chooses to enforce his alcohol
and drug abuse policies.