The University is re-interpreting its policy regarding illegal drug use on campus and will notify parents after first-time drug use, which is one part of an initiative to hold students accountable for their actions and lower AU's alcohol and drug use among students.
In the past, most parents have not been notified until the second alcohol or drug violation, which may correspond with major judicial action resulting in removal from residence halls, suspension or expulsion.
Under the new interpretation, which is currently in effect, all illegal drug use will be judged as egregious after the first violation and parents will be notified, Dean of Students Faith Leonard said. The change reflects that drug use carries more serious judicial action than alcohol violations, as it is always considered an illegal substance, while alcohol use is illegal for those under 21.
"The sheer fact that drugs are illegal is egregious enough for the University to call home," said junior Loren Schmidt, who sat on the Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force and is a member of Student Advocacy Center.
Leonard said that the new interpretation will affect less than one percent of the AU student population, and if consistent with last year's violations, about 35 students will be directly affected. Every violation is considered on an individual basis and depends on the circumstances of the family situation. Although rare, the Dean's office may decide not to notify parents.
"We need to hold students accountable," Leonard said, who believes that notifying parents after the first violation is part of "getting students help that they need to have."
Parents notified after the second violation in the past have complained that they wished they had known sooner so that they could have helped avoid the consequences associated with a second violation, Leonard said.
The interpretation of medical transportation under the initiative, although controversial since no judicial action is taken against related alcohol or drug use, will remain the same.
A student's need for medical attention, alcohol or drug related, outweighs the need for judicial action, Leonard said, and judicial action from transports would deter students from using them when necessary.
Students needing medical transports are referred to the Dean's office and consequences for students transported are an administrative action. For R.A.s, Julie Weber, executive director of Housing and Dining Programs, explained that calling a medical transport is sometimes "a personal struggle" for an R.A., as many struggle "philosophically with the parental notification issue."
Other student leaders also disagree with parental notification.
"We're adults," SAC Director Richard Garcia said. "Students have an outside responsibility to their parents. University policy should not be dictating parental relationships. [The University] does not tell grades or organizations that students are involved in to outside parties."
Garcia predicts that SAC will promote AU's Counseling Center, as well as outside rehabilitation programs, to students more frequently because of the new interpretation of the illegal drug violation. SAC will also plan and co-sponsor more programs, such as The Naked Truth, next week during National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week.
Parents are notified when the violation places the health or safety of the student or those around him or her at risk, results in removal from the residence halls, suspension or expulsion from the University, is judged to be egregious, or is a second violation of the University's alcohol or drug policies, according to the student handbook.
The task force was created to address the concerns raised by the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey that AU administered for the first time last year, and to put together recommendations compiled by staff and faculty over the past months.
The task force considered many factors when discussing the new administrative approach to illegal drug violation, said Katsura Beltz, director of Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services and chair of the Policies and Enforcement subgroup of the task force.
There has been an increase in judicial violations, Beltz said, and illegal drugs present health and safety concerns as well as possible chemical dependency, academic difficulties, loss of housing, suspension or dismissal from the University.
They also considered the 12 students that were expelled from the University for sale and distribution of illegal drugs in 2002, Beltz said.
"The problem is there, but most people choose to turn a blind eye," Schmidt said of drug use on campus and in the residence halls. "Anecdotally, there is a hard drug problem, you don't see many cases of it because it's harder to detect."
Alcohol is more popular than drugs on campus, and the majority of illegal drug violations on campus are from marijuana use, said Garcia.
"Drugs doesn't seem to be a topic of conversation; it's binge drinking, we saw that during the hurricane," Garcia said. "Drugs are more dangerous, you don't have to go out of your way as much to obtain and use alcohol."
The use of alcohol and drugs at AU has increased over the past three years, Leonard said, following a national trend of increased drinking and binge drinking.
Many students who come into college have had previous experiences with drinking, but opposed to past generations of college students who encountered their first times to "experiment" with alcohol and drugs on university campuses.
"Students who have been drinking are more sophisticated about it and more able to hide it from us," said Weber.
The Core survey, used by colleges across the country to measure student attitudes and perceptions about alcohol and drug use on campus, found that AU had a higher alcohol and marijuana use compared to the national sample.
The survey found that 80 percent of AU students used alcohol once, compared to a national average of 72 percent, and 27 percent of AU students used marijuana once, compared to a 20 percent national average. Compared to peer universities - private institutions of like size in the mid-Atlantic area - AU has similar alcohol and drug usage.
"There are no easy answers when dealing with alcohol drug use and abuse," said Leonard, who believes that the substance use is a three-tiered process of educating students, policy enforcement and, ultimately, a culture change within the campus community.
Other task force recommendations include student awareness and publicity of alcohol and drug-related issues, faculty support, and alcohol and drug protocol and policies.
Student awareness will include offering regular late-night programs, health training and intervention programs for high-risk groups, such as greek members and student athletes.
Other programs to deter alcohol and drug use include THINK, a student created and led group that posters in the residence halls to emphasize responsible decision-making, Beltz said.
Leonard also said that the University would like to encourage groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, to form on campus and encourage students interested in forming a chapter, who will remain confidential, to contact the Dean's Office for support in organizing logistics.
