<p>My son is starting college in the fall and just received his roommate assignment. I did a google on the roommate and discovered he was arrested in Jan of this year "on possession of a Class D substance and possession with intent to distribute". </p>
<p>Either he lied on his common app or it happened after he sent in the app. He was 18 when he was arrested. I do not want my son rooming with someone who was arrested for trying to deal drugs/pot.</p>
<p>What would you do in this situation?</p>
<p>What will happen to the guy if I tell the school why I do not want my son rooming with him?</p>
<p>You could either:
a) Wait it out until the hearing to see the final outcome
i) if innocent, you could just let it be.
if innocent and you still feel uneasy about him, then you could tell the university. I
don’t think it would affect him that much if he was found innocent of such charges.<br>
ii) If guilty, the university will know and you probably wouldn’t have to do anything. </p>
<p>b) If you don’t want to wait or you don’t have time for such things you could either
i) lie about why you want to change dorms to avoid this entire moral dilemma (what if he’s innocent or if you got the wrong person etc).
ii) tell the university the truth (You’re responsible for your son’s wellbeing, not his roommate’s).</p>
<p>As a parent, this would really scare me. I think I would end up contacting the school and discuss. I realize the person has not been proven guilty…but it would just be so hard to do nothing. Of course you have to also keep in mind that they may do nothing (if he hasn’t been convicted). Also remember he could get another roommate who is actually a drug dealer who has never been caught.</p>
<p>Has your son been in contact with his roommate? Just curious. What does your son think? I mean he’s going to have to make lots of choices in college on his own and he will have lots of temptations.</p>
<p>The kid sent my son an email - he has not responded yet.</p>
<p>I’m worried that I’ll get the kid thrown out of school or lose his scholarship. Then there’s retribution to worry about - I know it sounds silly but not out of the question.</p>
<p>I’m also worried that if he ends up rooming with him, that he may get caught again and then my son gets in trouble because there is marijuana in their room.</p>
<p>I was hoping a college admissions person would tell me what typical school rulings are on this issue.</p>
<p>It likely means he had a little pot; statistically, your son was likely to eventually dorm with a college student who has had pot before. Cops tend to get a little out of hand with “intent to distribute.” I’ve seen it happen in some pretty ridiculous cases.</p>
<p>Anyway, if he’s found guilty, the school will likely find out about it.</p>
<p>Possession with intent to distribute does not necessarily mean he was distributing.</p>
<p>In some states certain amounts of drugs or certain items being found near the drugs generate this charge automatically.</p>
<p>Example: If you smoke marijuana and get caught with a joint you get possession. If, however, you choose not to buy small amounts everyday and in stead buy an ounce then in some states you get tagged with intent to distribute while in others it’s merely possession.</p>
<p>Most likely, if this is a first offense the intent to distribute will be dropped and he’ll get off on a misdemeanor possession. </p>
<p>Not exactly a big deal.</p>
<p>Plus… it was marijuana. Not exactly something to freak out about. Marijuana and alcohol will exist in abundance at the school your son is attending. If it was a real drug (yes, I said real) like say, cocaine or meth or whatever, then I’d be worried or if this isn’t a first offense. His age is irrelevant, while legally an adult at 18 we all know most of us were not truly adults at 18.</p>