Thursday, April 23, 2009
UW's Regulations on marijuana
Our final project is based on UW's regulation on marijuana and whether or not student's are fully aware of the rules. We originally started the project looking at legalizing marijuana on campus but soon realized that there was a much bigger topic involved with marijuana on college campuses. So, we decided to clear up the gray area involved with UW's regulations on marijuana. We surveyed students and it became clear that almost no student's knew the actual consequences of being caught with marijuana on campus. Now, our goal is make it clear to the students what the real consequences are for example losing your financial aid or getting kicked out of the dorms. Our project will eventually be turned into a youtube video so that we can see other student's opinions on the matter.
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This project has a lot of relevance to the topic my group chose so it immediately grabbed my attention. Looking back at the presentation, this group came up with a lot of valid points involving students and the University's policies on controlled substances. Seeing the part where the group addressed how few students on campus actually know the University's official drug policies opened up a broad discussion involving marijuana laws as a whole throughout the nation - a topic that indirectly involves everyone. The interview(s) with students and people around campus was a great idea because it illustrates real students' knowledge, or lack of it, surrounding the laws involving academic policy and drugs. Showing your audience, especially students, how marijuana possession laws affect federal student aid and loans was an intriguing part of the presentation. It made me realize how harsh the penalties for cannabis are on a campus setting compared to an average person getting in trouble for the same offense. I do think that more research is needed in the area that involves students who incur a first possession offense because I know of students who have received tickets, but still get federal aid. Other than that minor detail the presentation was extremely well thought out and delivered. To further engage the polis, your group could contact students who have received tickets for marijuana possession and ask them how the process has affected them and what repercussions they've encountered.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I was very impressed with your presentation. Our group was also interested in looking at the marijuana legalization, but just as you chose to do, we focused on an aspect of marijuana use. The scope of your project is one that I find very necessary. Too many times, students get into legal trouble because they are unaware of their rights and the police will generally do all they can to write you out a citation, in order to pay their salary.
ReplyDeleteThough most of the time, marijuana users are causing no harm or disruption, police officers will go out of their way to target individuals that they believe are smoking using "the smell" as probably cause for searches. Students must be aware that they never have to answer any questions that the police ask them. I think it could have added to your presentation to inform students more broadly of their rights. Police assert themselves as authority figures and in doing so, assume that students will become submissive and tell them everything they want to know, whether or not it is in the students best interest to do so. Most people do not realize that the police can lie to you, but lying to them is a crime. They manipulate you by telling you that you are facing harsher crimes than you are, and offer "amnesty" for "telling the truth right now" but saying nothing to a police officer is generally safer than saying anything to them at all.
Anyways, a lot of that didn't have to do with your project, but I needed to blow off some steam about the MAPD. I just don't understand how or why we're supposed to trust the police to keep us safe when they continually lie to students during encounters.