Universal Concerns Through Students’ Eyes

Most marijuana users agree that its legalization could only be beneficial for a variety of reasons, yet one above all held true with most Hofstra students: safety. It cannot be denied that the drug is abundantly present on campus, which means that there are both dealers on and off-campus. While Hofstra’s north campus, where all the dormitories are located,  is usually a safe haven for students at any hour, the same cannot be said for the surrounding area that is Hempstead, often home to violence induced by drugs, gangs, or both. In the summer of 2008 a house on Lawrence St., one block from the Netherlands Complex (freshmen dormitories), was broken in to; the students living there were assaulted and robbed. This crime was later confirmed to be related to an upset between two drug dealers, one being a student and tenant of the house. Incidents like this one would be avoidable if marijuana was legalized, because the idea of the black market that this student dealer was involved in would eventually disintegrate, and the only sources one would be able to purchase marijuana from would be reliable and trustworthy.

The safety concerns a student has when walking through Hempstead are only amplified on their return trip to campus, when they realize they may have just received a misleading package; the threat of laced drugs will always be present until marijuana is legalized and properly regulated through the government, just like the sale of alcohol. It is not only dangerous neighborhoods, however, where users and dealers of marijuana must take caution. Our own police force, meant to serve and protect citizens, is wasting more time on drug raids than drug-related crimes. This past March the West Michigan Enforcement Team shot an unarmed Grand Valley student during a search of his student apartment for marijuana; the police force would not confirm whether or not drugs were found at the scene.

It’s not only the police, of course, who pose a threat to student users. The Public Safety department at Hofstra has their own ideas about the treatment of marijuana. If called, Public Safety will not hesitate to confiscate marijuana and paraphernalia found at the scene and report the incident to the local Hempstead police after issuing the students in question summonses to meet with the Dean of Students. Some Public Safety officers, however, disagree with the department’s reaction to marijuana. “I’m not a walking rehabilitation clinic,” said one officer who would not include his name along with his comment, “As long as it’s not indoors where other people can be agitated by its presence, you can do whatever you want on your own time.” As most officers do not seem to echo this sentiment, however, plenty of students are sent to the Dean of Students office each month to appeal their case.

For first time offenders, Dean of Students Cheryl Betz says, “We’ll usually issue a warning and have the student attend a drug seminar,” but if the drugs exceed a certain amount, Public Safety and the Hempstead Police Department deem that the quantity indicates intent to sell, and suddenly student dealers or users are threatened with arrest and possibly expulsion. Ultimately legalization of marijuana will benefit society tenfold: whether it is in the face of a recession, on college campuses where students’ futures and immediate safety are at stake, or simply in regard to the judgments others make about marijuana users.