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PANEL URGES UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DRUG-POLICY CHANGE
Members of a UNIVERSITY OF IOWA task force appointed to investigate student arrest and citation rates say the university of Iowa needs to take a hard look at its drug policy in the residence halls, and it urged the school to be more proactive in teaching students about its policy.
A preliminary analysis of data collected by the Task Force on Undergraduate Arrest Rates from the Iowa City and UNIVERSITY OF IOWA police, the Department of Education, the Office of Postsecondary Education, and residence halls shows the UI has the highest per capita drug-arrest rate in the Big Ten.
The initial findings prompted panel members to suggest that the university of Iowa correct variations in the substance policy - which shows a large discrepancy between how the university of Iowa deals with the possession of small amounts of marijuana and small amounts of alcohol.
The task force - composed of three faculty members and three UNIVERSITY OF IOWA students - said it would like to see the university of Iowa replace its harsh drug policies, which can harm students academically and financially, with more judicial referrals that would require drug-education programs.
Under the university's current drug policy, students caught with possession of small amounts of marijuana in university residence halls are incarcerated and stand the chance of being evicted from their rooms - with little chance of referral for a drug-education program. Drug charges can also be followed by a potentially permanent cut-off of all financial aid.
However, alcohol possession in the dorms is treated less harshly, said Judy Polumbaum, an associate professor of journalism and the chairwoman of the task force. These charges are handled within a residence-hall hierarchy, and policies give resident assistants discretion on how matters should be resolved. The alcohol is usually confiscated, and offenders are given a warning by dorm officials, she said.
"There just has to be a better way," Polumbaum said. "It's not something that's new, but in my days, the consequences were not so severe. Society has changed a lot."
In 2001, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA recorded 123 drug-policy violations and 180 alcohol violations on campus. However, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA police gave 471 alcohol-related referrals while only issuing 13 for drug offenses.
"When you arrest someone, you're not going to teach them not to do it again," said UNIVERSITY OF IOWA junior and task force member Gillian Rosenberg. "That's not the way it's supposed to work. People are supposed to learn not to do it again, not learn how not to get caught."
She said the university does a poor job of educating students about drug policies and needs to teach students about their rights.
"A lot of college students make bad choices," Rosenberg said. "Students need to know what's going on and how their actions are going to affect them."
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA administrators were leery of commenting on the panel's recommendations without seeing the group's final report, which will be released in two weeks.
Duane Papke, the associate director of UNIVERSITY OF IOWA police, said he believes the residence hall's zero-tolerance policy is effective at enforcing the university's drug laws, but, he said, he would keep an open mind about instating a referral system for drug charges.
Tom Baker, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA associate dean of students, declined to comment on preliminary recommendations and said he was unsure whether the recommendations would lead to policy change or how it would come about.
Members of a UNIVERSITY OF IOWA task force appointed to investigate student arrest and citation rates say the university of Iowa needs to take a hard look at its drug policy in the residence halls, and it urged the school to be more proactive in teaching students about its policy.
A preliminary analysis of data collected by the Task Force on Undergraduate Arrest Rates from the Iowa City and UNIVERSITY OF IOWA police, the Department of Education, the Office of Postsecondary Education, and residence halls shows the UI has the highest per capita drug-arrest rate in the Big Ten.
The initial findings prompted panel members to suggest that the university of Iowa correct variations in the substance policy - which shows a large discrepancy between how the university of Iowa deals with the possession of small amounts of marijuana and small amounts of alcohol.
The task force - composed of three faculty members and three UNIVERSITY OF IOWA students - said it would like to see the university of Iowa replace its harsh drug policies, which can harm students academically and financially, with more judicial referrals that would require drug-education programs.
Under the university's current drug policy, students caught with possession of small amounts of marijuana in university residence halls are incarcerated and stand the chance of being evicted from their rooms - with little chance of referral for a drug-education program. Drug charges can also be followed by a potentially permanent cut-off of all financial aid.
However, alcohol possession in the dorms is treated less harshly, said Judy Polumbaum, an associate professor of journalism and the chairwoman of the task force. These charges are handled within a residence-hall hierarchy, and policies give resident assistants discretion on how matters should be resolved. The alcohol is usually confiscated, and offenders are given a warning by dorm officials, she said.
"There just has to be a better way," Polumbaum said. "It's not something that's new, but in my days, the consequences were not so severe. Society has changed a lot."
In 2001, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA recorded 123 drug-policy violations and 180 alcohol violations on campus. However, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA police gave 471 alcohol-related referrals while only issuing 13 for drug offenses.
"When you arrest someone, you're not going to teach them not to do it again," said UNIVERSITY OF IOWA junior and task force member Gillian Rosenberg. "That's not the way it's supposed to work. People are supposed to learn not to do it again, not learn how not to get caught."
She said the university does a poor job of educating students about drug policies and needs to teach students about their rights.
"A lot of college students make bad choices," Rosenberg said. "Students need to know what's going on and how their actions are going to affect them."
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA administrators were leery of commenting on the panel's recommendations without seeing the group's final report, which will be released in two weeks.
Duane Papke, the associate director of UNIVERSITY OF IOWA police, said he believes the residence hall's zero-tolerance policy is effective at enforcing the university's drug laws, but, he said, he would keep an open mind about instating a referral system for drug charges.
Tom Baker, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA associate dean of students, declined to comment on preliminary recommendations and said he was unsure whether the recommendations would lead to policy change or how it would come about.
