OU COMMITTEE AGAIN DELAYS VOTE ON POT PENALTY PROPOSAL

The Ohio University Review and Standards Committee is taking longer than
anticipated to vote on amendments to the Student Code of Conduct because of
concerns over several of the proposals. A proposed amendment that would
strengthen penalties for marijuana possession on campus has stirred
opposition among students.

But Richard Carpinelli, assistant vice president of student affairs and
chair of the committee said Friday that the extra time has been a positive
factor. Carpinelli said he does not know when the committee will finally
vote on the amendments to the Code of Conduct, but that they will continue
discussion on all of the issues.

He said, however, that he hopes the proposals will be sent to Mike
Sostarich, vice president of student affairs, sometime this quarter. "The
committee is still debating. This is not a thing I think we can rush,"
Carpinelli said.

Recently, an OU student group that has concerns about the changes, Students
for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), spoke to the Review and Standards
Committee in a closed meeting about their concerns. The group has drafted a
resolution opposing the proposed "zero tolerance" amendment to the code,
and intends to submit it to Student Senate in the near future.

SSDP's main objection involves an amendment that would change possession of
non-felony amounts marijuana on campus from a Class B to a Class A offense.
Currently, students caught with small amounts of marijuana can receive
penalties up to disciplinary probation. Violators of Class A offenses are
subject to possible expulsion.

Carpinelli acknowledged that SSDP brought several new points to the
committee. "Students for a Sensible Drug Policy provided a side of the
issue that hadn't been considered," he said. "The committee is still
debating the drug issue."

Because of student feedback, the committee has decided to hold an open
forum for all students and university employees in order to hear everyone's
opinion. "We would like to get feedback and then go back to committee and
discuss their opinions," Carpinelli said.

Carpinelli said he doesn't know when the public forum will be held.

Marijuana penalties are among three main issues that the Review and
Standards Committee is considering for revision. Changing the appeal setup
for students who go through the judiciary process is the second main issue.
Third, the committee is considering an amendment that would separate a code
violation that covers both harm to oneself (suicide, extreme intoxication)
and harm to others (assault) into two different violations, one dealing
with harm to oneself and the other with harm to others.

Most of the other changes to the Code of Conduct are "word smithing"
changes, Carpinelli said.

Carpinelli said that despite recent criticism, the proposed changes to the
code are not meant to "scare" students or make punishments more harsh.

"There are high ends and low ends in every case," he said. "In the case of
illegal drugs, the low end is discovering a marijuana cigarette, and the
high end could be trafficking cocaine. The intent of making marijuana
possession a Class A offense is to send the message that OU does not value
possession of drugs."

Carpinelli maintained that every offense is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

"The crux of the Code of Conduct is so that students can learn as a result
of interaction with judiciaries what it means to be a responsible citizen
of the university community," he said.

SSDP had requested a voting seat on the committee, but Carpinelli said it
would be impossible to include all student groups fairly. "How much
representation can you have and make a committee still run effectively?" he
asked.

Carpinelli said he feels the university community is represented well on
the committee. "I think membership represents a broad constituency, but OU
is broad and including everyone would be a monumental task," he said.

Abby Bair, a leader of SSDP, said last week that the group has drafted a
resolution opposing the Review and Standards Committee's "amendment to
enforce a zero-tolerance policy in Ohio University's student code of conduct.

"The resolution lays out the wrongs of the proposed amendment," she said in
an e-mail interview on Wednesday. "The solution of the resolution is to
abolish the amendment."

She said the SSDP plans to present the resolution to Student Senate in the
near future. "Then we will network with as many student organizations as
possible to unify students' voices against the resolution."

The group feels that possible expulsion for possession of small amounts of
marijuana is overkill, and a far harsher penalty than currently exists in
Ohio criminal law for the same infraction.