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CAMPUS

The Norwich Guidon
Dec. 11, 2003

New drug policy to include all students starting next semester

By Justin Fitzgerald
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Dope, smack, juice, crank, pot, weed, and crack: all a variety of illegal drugs; all common words to today's youth.

Maybe an acid trip or extreme muscle growth in a short time period is what college students are looking for. The question is, is it worth it?

To some, it sounds fun; to some, it sounds dangerous. But using drugs will put a lot on the line for a Norwich student, because random drug testing of all students will shortly become campus-wide policy.

"Over the summer, as a result of the incidents that occurred, that came to light with football, where three individuals were identified by outside agencies as having used or been involved with anabolic steroids," said Brig. Gen. Mike Kelley, the vice president for student affairs and commandant of cadets. "As a result of that coming to light last April, the president and the board of trustees made a decision that we should institute a policy for testing for illegal drugs."

Norwich President Richard Schneider said that "the main thing I want to do is to use this as a deterrent. I want people to know that this is very risky business. Taking illegal drugs hurts you; it is harmful to you."

On Nov. 6, a policy implementing drug testing for student-athletes was implemented. This is no surprise to the majority of the students on campus, because a letter was sent out this past July informing students and families about the policy.

"I wrote a letter to all of the students over the summer to let them know we were going to be doing two or three things," Schneider said. "One, is establishing random testing for varsity athletes. Second, I can do testing. I can order a test on an athlete if in the opinion of the commandant and vice president for student life, Brigadier General Kelley, there is reasonable suspicion that the student is using illegal drugs or an unauthorized substance as stipulated by the NCAA."

This policy will not be restricted only to athletes, however. It will encompass all Norwich students.

"I also wrote in the summer that the other thing that everyone should be aware of is that if in the opinion of the commandant and vice president for student life we have reasonable suspicion of a student, any student, using illegal drugs, that we can order that student to take a urinalysis test to determine whether or not the student is using them," Schneider said.

Since the policy has been instituted, some students have worried about what qualifies as "reasonable suspicion."

"What's the basis of reasonable suspicion?" asked Andy Grenier, 21, a senior accounting and management major from Westfield, Mass. "Who determines who's shady or not?"

Strange behavior, a large outbreak of acne, extreme amounts of muscle growth in short periods or time, and a short temper can constitute reasonable suspicion, according to Kevin Bowen, 20, a junior environmental science major from Billerica, Mass.

"Reasonable suspicion may be found, but not limited to 1) observed possession or use of substances appearing to be prohibited drugs, 2) arrest or conviction for a criminal offense related to the possession or transfer of prohibited drugs or substances, or 3) observed abnormal appearance, conduct or behavior reasonably interpretable as being caused by the use of prohibited drugs or substances," according to the policy

"Procedures and Regulations Implementing Drug Testing for Student-Athletes."

"Having been a college athlete, myself, I am opposed to people doing drugs to enhance performance or to act out on the field one way or another; maybe this is a way of getting people that do that," said Chip Keinath, the substance abuse counselor at Norwich. "But philosophically I have concerns, because I would like to see people making their own decisions, and I feel that our society has allowed us to get to a place that looks at the quick fix solution."

Oftentimes society looks for the quick, easy way of doing things instead of "taking time, effort, energy, and concentration to engage" in the work that is needed to complete goals, Keinath said.

"I guess random drug testing used as a scare tactic is one method of prevention, but I think a better method would be to educate students about the dangers of drug use and not to just randomly test kids and waste the school's money," Grenier said.

Other students have few concerns with the policy and support this approach.

"I think that random drug testing is a good idea, because it keeps everybody honest," Bowen said. "There's a lot of stuff going on around campus that shouldn't be going on."

Anonymous letters and rumors that get spread should not be causes for reasonable suspicion, according to Melissa Luciano, 20, a junior international studies major from Seoul, South Korea. She said that if someone wants to cause problems for someone else, an anonymous letter or a rumor could be problematic with this policy.

"The good kids who are not taking drugs or steroids, who are, because of their good conditioning and their commitment to working out and lifting and those kind of things and are doing it a natural way, really feel cheated by the other kids who are getting big through chemistry," Schneider said. "We don't want kids who are on drugs, illegal drugs, at Norwich. Period."

Students can be tested for a variety of different things. Tests can be specific or very broad, depending on the situation.

"When we identify testing, that testing can be a broad range of materials, or it can be a narrower range of materials, and we, as the university officials responsible for that, can select what that range of materials is that would be tested for," Kelley said. "We are not out to get anybody here at the university. We are simply trying to demonstrate within our community, and external to our community, that we are taking the appropriate actions to ensure that we do have a drug free environment."

"[Illegal drug use] is against the law; it dishonors our school; and it's trashing their lives," Schneider said. "I don't need any more stumbling blocks in the way of my other students who are not doing those things."

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, Northfield, VT 056632. www.norwich.edu/guidon. If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.