I'm a bit worried about getting into my dream school

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
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<p>To my knowledge, which is largely second-hand since I live in the substance-free dorm, most people who partake stick to marijuana and acid. There are certainly people who do harder drugs, as there are anywhere, but they are few.</p>

<p>I don’t know if Reed students do more drugs than other students as I’ve never had the chance to compare, but I doubt it. One thing I’m almost sure about, based on my conversations with friends who go to other schools, is that drug use at Reed is less covert and illicit than it is elsewhere. People don’t hide their habits, which may make drugs look more prevalent than they really are.</p>

<p>The biggest difference between Reed and other schools in terms of how drug use is treated is probably the emphasis Reed puts on safety over prevention. People are encouraged to be open about their drug-related problems so that the school can help them get better. The administration does not enforce disciplinary measures like suspension and expulsion in drug-related cases (unless something else was going on as well, e.g., harassment or sexual assault). It urges people to get help and provides treatment.</p>

<p>Reed students are treated as adults to a greater extent than most other college students, I suspect. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, your lifestyle choices are left up to you. The administration seems to have taken a more hard-line stance on drugs in recent years, most likely because of the negative press they generate for the school, but it is still way more liberal than any other college administration I’ve heard about.</p>

<p>To answer the next question that is inevitably brought up in these conversations, it is entirely possible to have a thriving social life without doing any drugs, or without drinking alcohol. The people who do drugs won’t force you to join their activities, and will in fact be perfectly happy to hang out with you regardless (the good thing about living in a small community is that you’ll often be thrown into social situations with people you wouldn’t have considered spending time with otherwise–and come out of these situations with new friends), and the people who don’t do drugs are always looking for like-minded company. I want to say that Reedies aren’t a judgmental lot, but that isn’t entirely true; there are some people who will make snap judgments about you when they hear you don’t do any drugs. But they are decidedly in the minority and aren’t worth your time.</p>

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<p>Aren’t all dorms “substance free” now? </p>

<p>[Two</a> Students Arrested In Drug Bust At Reed](<a href=“http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-28248-two_students_arrested_in_drug_bust_at_reed.html]Two”>Two Students Arrested In Drug Bust At Reed)</p>

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<p>Not in the least.</p>

<p>‘Substance-free’ in this case refers to a lifestyle dorm to which people applied precisely because they wanted to live in a substance-free space.</p>

<p>Although the other dorms are nominally substance-free in the sense that people are not supposed to do illegal things in them, there is a huge difference between them and the subfree dorm.</p>

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<p>Why haven’t designated smoking areas (DSA’s) been implemented? Reed is getting a rap for being a cigarette smokers college. Visitors say that cigarette smoking is highly visible and prevalent at Reed.</p>

<p>Smoking seems way out of place for Reed as it draws many students from California. Oregon has an 18% smoking rate and California a 15% one - which are low by national standards. [Smoking</a> Rates Remain Highest in Kentucky, Lowest in Utah](<a href=“Smoking Rates Remain Highest in Kentucky, Lowest in Utah”>Smoking Rates Remain Highest in Kentucky, Lowest in Utah)</p>

<p>Why can’t open air bus shelter type DSA’s be installed in or adjacent to parking areas?</p>

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<p>I don’t know and I frankly don’t care. As a non-smoker, I don’t feel that cigarette smoke is prevalent enough at Reed to impact my health negatively.</p>

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<p>^ Do you find yourself walking through clouds of smoke?</p>

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<p>Not really.</p>

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<p>Smoking at Reed is a huge issue if cigarette smoke irritates you. Obviously some people overlook it but others might not be able to if they have asthma or are very sensitive. Handfuls of my kids smoke before and after my class. It’s even easy to smell in the classroom. It bothers me, but might not be an issue for others. Depends on the person. A lot of the kids don’t come to Reed as smokers but start in the first few weeks/months of school. That’s not an atmosphere I would like to be around.</p>

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<p>Ghostt:
Thank you, that is very helpful.</p>

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<p>It amazes me the number of posts concerning smoking at Reed and, to a lesser extent, drug use.</p>

<p>First, as a parent of a recent EDI Prospie, it is one of my last worries. I can’t wait for my child to attend Reed because I believe strongly that it is the type of academic environment that she will most thrive, and will challenge her. She is a “big girl” and I trust that I have raised her in such a way that she will make what she considers wise choices as an adult.
Smoking and drug use are prevalent on almost every college campus in America, as well as in every day life.</p>

<p>In short, my advice for someone who is so concerned about smoking and drug use would be to look into BYU…it’s a good school, without as many of the “demon vices”.
Just my two cents…</p>

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<p>Hi, I just wanted to throw in my $0.02 in response to seleidun.</p>

<p>Marijuana is by far the most prevalent drug on campus (as is the case on most college campuses). Hallucinogens and “study-drugs” are probably the next most common. Personally, I didn’t hear much about drugs harder than those; while I am sure there are a few students who do coke or heroin etc, it seems like you would have to intentionally seek them out… like your new dorm friend probably isn’t going to whip out a line of coke while you’re chilling in his dorm room, whereas that may happen occasionally with pot. I think there is probably more drug experimentation that happens at Reed than at other schools, but it is not like a daily activity for most students (excepting pot).</p>

<p>People are usually respectful if you don’t want to participate or if it makes you uncomfortable, just as they are (or should be) about cigarette smoke. If it’s not your cup of tea, it’s not that hard to avoid- you can live in the subfree dorm, you can find like-minded friends, you can still have a dynamic social life. Drug use really shouldn’t be a dealbreaker if you’re considering Reed as a potential college… especially because it mostly comes down to your choice of who you surround yourself with.</p>

<p>Reed got a bad rap recently because there were two student deaths related to heroin overdoses in 2008 and 2010. I did not know the students and do not wish to comment on the deaths (nor do I wish for this to turn into some huge discussion about drugs— this has been discussed ad nauseum, just search old threads). However, my feeling is that any increase in heroin use on campus is more a product of Portland (which has experienced skyrocketing heroin use and related deaths-- google it) than a product of Reed’s so-called “drug culture” and permissiveness.</p>

<p>On the topic of Reed permissiveness, I will echo a lot of what Ghostt said. Reed’s disciplinary procedures and Community Safety Officers have historically shied away from monitoring, policing and punishing students, and instead takes the stance of “live and let live”- unless you are harming others. CSOs are there to enforce community safety, not to play babysitter and tattletale. I think the Honor Principle is also part of why Reed is different in this regard, as it is assumed that a) you’re an adult b) you’re responsible for your decisions and c) your decisions should not inflict harm on others/the community.
However, this has changed some in the last two years as Reed has cracked down more on drug use, even marijuana, probably because of all the negative publicity and outside pressure. It is a very controversial topic on campus right now.</p>

<p>The biggest point I wish to make is that hardcore addicts will have a very difficult time managing the workload and graduating from Reed. Getting through Reed is no small task and if you’re partying all the time, you will probably fail out. </p>

<p>Regarding cigarette smoke, there’s technically a policy at Reed and all of Oregon that you can’t smoke within 10 feet of a door/entrance and you pretty much can’t smoke inside anywhere but your own private residence (which doesn’t include campus housing). There are some places on campus that attract a fairly steady stream of smokers (like the library-bio breezeway), and students sometimes break rules and smoke inside the SU, Paradox, Pool Hall, and their dorm rooms but it is frowned upon and potentially a violation of the Honor Principle. I was generally not bothered by cigarette smoke except on rare occasions, and did not find myself walking through clouds of smoke. I think the higher rate of smoking at Reed probably has a lot to do with stress and hipsters.</p>

<p>@ rgh3rd- There has been discussion in student senate about DSAs/smoking shelters but it seems like the administration thinks it would only encourage smoking if permanent structures were built to shelter smokers, plus they don’t want to channel funds from other worthy causes to pay for it. If you feel strongly about it, though, take it up with them.</p>

<p>@Tmbgiants- I wish more parents took your wise approach to parenting and college.</p>

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<p>PS Congrats to the OP, Bloom1, on getting in! I hope Reed lives up to your expectations!</p>

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<p>“The end” is totally not pretentious. Jim Morrison is incandescent.</p>

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<p>Nice job enjoy it there</p>