DRUG RAIDS UNNECESSARY

Perhaps because of post 9-11 trauma, AU students are a little more
sensitive to events that disrupt their routine life. Or maybe students
get a little touchy about witnessing masked DEA police officers that
march into their residence halls, throw their neighbors to the floor,
hand cuff them and toss them into jail cells lock and key.

What the Washington Post called "a month-long under cover drug
investigation" turned into a direct slap shot stinging every AU
student's face hard. AU spokesman Todd Sedmak claimed, "We have been
supporting [police] in their work to make campus a safer place for
everyone." But I say "ha!" to Mr. Sedmak and challenge his claim on
the grounds that a "Traffic"-esque drug bust on campus makes no one
feel any safer. From the students who were best buds with these
"insidious" dealers to the Pink Floyd loving pot heads to the honors
students who just hit a joint for the first time, everyone and anyone
who has par taken "illegal" activities ranging from pot smoking to
coke snorting to even illegal underage drinking has been affected.

Reflecting on the years when our baby-boomer parents were in college,
drug experimentation was a part of "the whole College thing," and it
continues to be. Go to any university in this country and it will be
the same thing; kids trying drugs and drinking illegally. I remember
my cousin, who graduated suma cum laude, asking me after my first
semester if I'd done any crazy experimentation at college, while
smirking in reminiscence of her own experiences. With second semester
in full swing, excited pledges, eager SC candidates and festive
basketball fans have only been strengthening campus spirit. And now
our growing morale and charging spirit has been mulled over by
unnecessary covetousness.

Also taking into account the unnecessary dubbing of AU's "drug
problem" as being an actual discrepancy, compared to other
universities drugs are no more prevalent at AU. And if there was a
so-called drug problem why weren't we made aware of it? Ben Ladner's
use of cronyism by allowing this investigation, but failing to clue in
his students has proven to have strong repercussions.

Making AU's campus a safer place should not entail condoning police
brutality and allowing federal arrests to happen to innocuous
students. In regard to those that were arrested Thursday night, they
are no different then the users, people that just like to get high.

If innocently smoking some dope, drinking before the age of 21, or in
taking any other illegal narcotics for that matter is such a threat in
the eyes of the state then I pity this country for its
miscalculations. I will note the obvious; there are bigger threats
running rampant throughout this city and country than some harmless
college stoners.