In print | Published February 14, 2008

Almost three weeks ago, a male student left Swarthmore’s campus for the semester. He took a leave of absence, following a meeting with the Dean’s Office, surrounded by allegations of his possession of illegal substances. According to the student, his alleged possession of an illegal substance was discovered when officials from the Dean’s Office entered his room. The officials went into his refrigerator, where they discovered the allegedly illegal substances, according to the student. Since the discovery, other students have left and may be linked to the initial discovery. While some details of the case are not entirely clear due to privacy issues, the initial incident raises several important issues for students.

We are concerned by student use of hard drugs on this campus. We recognize, in the words of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Garikai Campbell ‘90, that "the possession and use of illegal drugs has the potential to invoke disruptive and unsafe behaviors, invite dangerous visitors, interrupt other students’ ability to work, endanger the health of the users, negatively affect the lives of those in the broader community to which the College belongs and introduce any of a number of other stresses to the environment." We also recognize the position in which the Dean’s Office finds itself, as risking negligence by not taking any actions and being morally bound to occasionally intervene in student affairs.

It is clear that many college students use drugs and that the harms of drug use outweigh the benefits, but it seems to us that the actions of the Dean’s Office in this case are a rare occurrence for this campus. The Dean’s Office obviously has good intentions when pursuing a substance user. Nonetheless, we are surprised by the way in which the Dean’s Office chose to pursue a remedy to this case; the Dean’s Office felt it “important, necessary and right” to turn over the discovered materials to the Swarthmore Borough Police, though is still gathering information to try to understand the situation. It is unclear as to whether or not there will be CJC hearings.

According to page 122 of the student handbook, “Any dean may enter and inspect a residence hall room without the resident’s consent if there is a reason to believe that any College regulation is being or has been violated.” We suspect that some students are not aware of this policy and recommend that students become better acquainted with the official policies of the college.

The actions of the Dean’s Office should serve as a warning to students engaging in dangerous behavior and putting their roommates and friends at risk. Students must be aware of their rights and responsibilities, along with the activities their friends and especially roommates partake in. As a result, students in a shared living arrangement, especially those who are necessarily placed in shared arrangements in their first year, must take on increased responsibility of the possessions kept in their “personal” spaces if they suspect that all is not well. It is important to be assertive about your living space, and if you need to go to the Deans, do so.

« RETURN TO OPINIONS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »