SENATORS POISED TO WAGE POT FIGHT

A new crop of undergraduate student senators was voted into office
yesterday, and a handful of them are poised to push a reduction of
drug penalties through the university's most powerful policy-making
body next year.

Anastacia Cosner, president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy,
campaigned on her desire to see penalties for marijuana use reduced
from an A-level violation according to the Code of Student Conduct to
a B-level violation, essentially putting it on par with the penalties
students receive for on-campus alcohol consumption. She said she will
be will be preparing to address the issue next fall.

Some of the new senators have already said they plan on supporting
her cause when she submits a formal proposal. Their initiative will
likely include an education campaign to inform faculty and staff on
an issue that has become popular among students but controversial
among administrators, Lewis said.

The issue has gained momentum since a Student Government Associate
referendum that last year found 65 percent of the 4,376 students who
voted in their election supported more lenient penalties. Since then,
Cosner has led the issue through the Residence Hall Association-which
last month passed legislation to lower pot penalties in dorms - and
has lobbied delegates to support it.

As the Department of Resident Life decides the legislation's fate in
the coming weeks, Cosner has pressured administrators to acceptthem.
And her influence is beginning to spread with her fellow senators-elect.

"It's not a big deal," said junior psychology major Jason Lewis, who
was elected to represent the College of Behavioral and Social
Sciences. "We don't need to start pulling students off to jail for
small marijuana possession. The police should have plenty of other
things to deal with."

"Although the university has a responsibility to uphold the law,
there seems to be no compelling need for them to pile on extra
penalties," added junior philosophy major Greg Johnson, who was
elected from the College of Arts and Humanities.

Still, the proposal doesn't have complete support from all the new senators.

"Regardless of how I feel about marijuana use, it's still an illegal
substance," said junior communications and sociology major Melissa
Morales of ARHU.

Lewis acknowledges that it will be an uphill battle to convince the
faculty and staff members of the senate, who make up a majority of
the roughly 140-member body. Students will need the help of SSDP and
NORML if they are to enact a change in university policy. Some
student issues are caught up the senate for years.

"It's a decisive issue, but 65 percent of the student population
wanted it," Lewis said.

Cosner cautions, however, that a rally for reduced pot penalties is
still a ways off.

"I don't think I would even think about writing a marijuana proposal
until next year," said Cosner.

Until fall she plans on spending her time getting acquainted with
senate procedures and other student issues, including a proposal that
would subject students who receive probation before judgment in court
to university sanctions, including expulsion or suspension.

Students from ten colleges and a part-time student were also elected
to the senate. Only one school's election results went unresolved:
The Journalism school's election ended in a runoff.

One of Lewis' pet issues, he says, will be making the school more
environmentally friendly with more renewable energy sources and
efforts to bring more campus buildings up to national environmental standards.

Other senators focused on reviving old senate issues that have yet to
be resolved.

Johnson said he hoped to examine the university's policy on
plus-minus grading - which the senate has yet to settle after passing
it last year, only to have the provost ask them to re-examine the issue.

The debate on the university's policy toward transgender students and
staff could also be revived, said senior economics and finance major
Roberto Munster, who was elected yesterday from the Robert H. Smith
School of Business.

Each student senator at the university represents around 1,000
undergraduate students, so senators' ability to advocate on students'
behalf depends on their ability to work with one another and to
convince faculty members - 95 in total - to support their resolutions.

Lewis wants new and current student senators to work together to
hammer out an organized plan to get a high number of student issues addressed.

"We need to work as a group," said Lewis. "And that's how we're going
to gain power."

Lewis said he also wants to resume the fight to increase the number
of student seats on the senate - which was bumped up last year.

"It's a fight that deserves to be reiterated every year," he said.