Complicated University Judicial Issue

<p>Ok, so this is my first post and I was hoping to get some of your thoughts on an incident that happened just under three weeks ago, on the first day of the last week of the semester.</p>

<p>Basically, a friend and I got back to my dorm room after getting some breakfast, and my roommate was about to leave for class. He takes some weed out, like really strong-smelling stuff, and it immediately stinks up the room. He goes to class and takes it with him, I guess to smoke before. We're friends and I know that he smokes (I don't anymore) but doesn't make a habit of bringing it into the room. Anyway, I'm concerned about the smell and open the windows to let it get out, and my friend and I go about our business. </p>

<p>Maybe ten minutes later, a staff member from my hall and a campus safety officer are at my door, and knowing exactly why, I answer. She informs me that she can smell marijuana and I vaguely tell her it was because of my roommate and that he just recently left for class. She asks which side of the rooms/desk is mine and which is my roommate's. I tell her and inform her that she can search, honestly saying that I don't have anything illegal. She does a cursory search, not going through any of our stuff, just looking around. Obviously, nothing was out, nothing to indicate the presence of drugs besides the smell.</p>

<p>The officer was under the impression that someone had been smoking, which was not the case. I told her once again that my roommate may have had weed out (I didn't see him take it out...thought it would be a good idea to make sure I didn't incriminate myself) but I only encountered him briefly before he left. At this point, she says that she is not going to bring the dog in to do a thorough search and that she has to get to a traffic accident, so she says that no criminal charges are gonna be filed, but my roommate and I will both receive university judicial violations. At the time, there was nothing I could do to prove my innocence. My roommate has since said that if the time comes he will take all the blame, since I had no knowledge of his drug possession at the time. </p>

<p>I'm on winter break right now and haven't heard anything about it since. Part of me thinks that since nothing was found and the officer was just kind of like "well...I don't see anything and I have to go", that it's not as big of a deal as I'm thinking. The other part of me is freaking out thinking I'm going to get kicked out of the dorms (which would be awful) for something I had pretty much no involvement in, save for the fact that it was my room and ultimately I'm responsible for what goes down in there...which I understand. Like I said, my roommate is willing to explain that I had nothing to do with the presence of drugs if it comes to a situation where we're facing removal from dorms. If something that serious was going to come of it, would I have heard something from the university by now? And even if my roommate does take responsibility, could I still face the same consequences as him? Sorry for the long read, but I've seen upset about this and would like to hear some of your thoughts.</p>

<p>Note: I didn't admit to anything to the officer, just said I only recently got back.my roommate or someone else may have taken weed out. So the only thing we have against us is the smell. I also realize not all universities are the same in their judicial processes, but I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and if so, what came of it.</p>

<p>first off, nice username, Breaking Bad is an EPIC show. Second, sorry you are in this position, your school must be super strict if they have the option to bring a dog in to sniff your dorm room, if they did that at my school the dorms would be empty lol (exaggeration, but still). From the sound of it though, you have nothing to really worry about, since in the worst case scenario, your roommate will rightfully be taking all the blame, he is the one that should be worried. :)</p>

<p>Different colleges have different policies and some will react differently than others. I’d say, find your student handbook or check online, to learn how the U states their position on drugs in the dorm and penalties. Google, if you have to, but get your bearings.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses. I’ve looked over the university’s code of conduct, judicial process, etc. and it doesn’t state specific outcomes for each situation, just a list of potential penalties. It could be anything from online drug programs, $100 fine, community service, probation, or worst of all, lost of housing. I’m just not sure because in this case the only offense was the odor, no proof of possession or anything…so I’m not sure how they’re gonna interpret it. But I’m really just more concerned about making my case. As you can probably tell, I like to overanalyze things.</p>

<p>Things will go a lot better for you if you chill out. Tell them a skunk jumped through your window. Just kidding, but my friend did use that excuse before haha. The only time I’ve ever known of someone getting kicked out of the dorms for weed at my school had been when they found a whole coffee pot full of it and a scale. For just the smell of weed, the worst they could do to you would be a fine or maybe an online class. Don’t worry about it.</p>

<p>They didn’t catch anyone with anything so how would they proceed?</p>

<p>BTW, at my son’s school, if you get caught with drugs or alcohol, it goes into the criminal justice system. That means arrest, court and public notification.</p>