<p>Apparently there was this kid that was suspended because they caught him with acid and shrooms.
That sucks.</p>
<p>What does a suspension mean? And I know weed is fairly common, but how common are the rest of the illegal drugs? I mean, did the guy just have bad luck or was he really doing something extraordinary?</p>
<p>The story is something with their quadmate was hurt and went to the hospital. So people went to his room and his roommate that was there had the drugs out in the open. And i have no idea what suspension means at this point.</p>
<p>He had to leave for the semester.</p>
<p>The guy just had bad luck, as far as I know - but in general, the harder drug/psychedelics scene isn't particularly common.</p>
<p>This is not something about which to worry. When looking for colleges I was really worried about pervasive drug scenes (I'm not exactly into that), and for the most part, I've been able to attend parties and not haven't had to deal with that stuff. Again, this is a very singular case.</p>
<p>Are you sure it is singular?
Cuse i am on the fence now. Feel like I might as well go to berkeley if I get accepted because a few of my friends tell me of the dragon chasing that goes on there.</p>
<p>Yes. Swarthmore is a small school, and when such infractions occur, as you can see now, they appear on CC.com (:)). If you don't want to deal with that, it will be no problem to ignore it. Students need to really go out of their way to find that kind of stuff. Though I'm nothing more than a screen name, I don't think I can express to you how worried I was about the drug scene I thought would be at Swarthmore. It was a large concern. It's not bad at all. Again, you really have to go looking for that kind of stuff. If you want to find it, you can; if not, ignoring it is no chore. I don't think Swarthmore is too different from other top colleges.</p>
<p>I definitely second that - it was something I was concerned with (and fhimas and I worried together, haha) before I came to Swat, but I can assure you that this VERY rarely happens and that there is absolutely no pressure to do any sort of typical substance (like alcohol), let alone drugs. And with these kinds of drugs, not only is there no pressure, I would also agree that you would definitely have to go out of your way to find some!</p>
<p>"Suspended" is a formal term. To the best of my knowledge, a student could only be suspended following a formal College Judicial Council proceeding.</p>
<p>In the vast majority of cases, the best course of action is determined informally in discussions between the student and the Deans without going to a CJC proceeding. So what might be described as a "suspension" would actually be a voluntary leave of absence.</p>
<p>I have no idea about this situation, but it strikes me as one of those where there is probably more to the story than we are hearing. Typically, there would be several steps over a period of time (like repeated problems, academic or behavioral probation, etc.) before the college would ask a student to take a "voluntary" leave of absence.</p>
<p>Generally, the only time the college would step in and remove a student from campus for a first incident would be when there is a risk of physical danger to other students. From what I know, the Deans bend over backwards to help students, not bust them out of college. Of course, there will always be the occasional college student who is an incorrigible dumb-a$$.</p>
<p>he was asked to take the semester off</p>
<p>and this is the first time since ive been here that ive even heard of someone using hard drugs. it is an isolated case</p>
<p>
[quote]
he was asked to take the semester off
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is much more in keeping with the way Swarthmore would handle most situations.</p>
<p>And, even at that, I would make a hefty wager that there is more to the story, i.e. not the first time the student brought him or herself to the attention of the Deans in a way that suggested the need to devise a new plan for handling college responsibility.</p>
<p>The other possibility is that this student's actions directly resulted in the other student's hospitalization. That could get a express ticket home.</p>
<p>No, it is the first time the student had been in any sort of trouble, but as this kind of thing rarely happens at Swat, more drastic measures than usual might have been taken.</p>
<p>And the other student's hospitalization was in no way related to this incident.</p>
<p>Thanks, forgetmenots.</p>
<p>It's not THAT unusual. Anytime you have 1400 college students in one place, you can expect a few druggies. It's certainly not the first time in the last five years that a Swarthmore student has run afoul of the deans for drugs beyond a bag of pot...although it does appear to be pretty limited.</p>
<p>Every incident I've heard about has taken more than one occurrence to get an invitation for a vacation. I'm still guessing that there was a something in the totality of the situation beyond just finding drugs in the this kids room. (Talking with RAs, first semester class attendence, etc.)</p>
<p>The other possibility is that Dean Larrimore is taking a different approach than Dean Gross. That would be OK, too.</p>
<p>It wasn't just finding drugs - it was finding him making drugs, with apparent intent to sell. That's slightly different, I think.</p>
<p>Ahhhh....Yes, slightly different indeed!</p>
<p>In that case, it's not at all surprising that he or she got an invitation to take a vacation. That was the missing variable in my mental equation!</p>
<p>What kind of drugs could he actually make in a dorm room?</p>
<p>Is this incident reported in the Phoenix?</p>
<p>I don't think it was in the Phoenix. </p>
<p>There really wasn't an incident per se. One of the kid's quadmates had to go the hospital for an unrelated health issue. Somebody from the dean's office went to his room to pick up some clothes or books or toothbrush or whatever to take to him in the hospital. When they went in the suite, the other kid had left his drugs out in plain sight.</p>
<p>Or so the story goes. I have no idea, but I'm guessing that "making drugs" was probably more along the lines of a packaging operation.</p>
<p>Sounds like the Deans handled it efficaciously and in a way that allows the student to regroup and try again.</p>
<p>Below is the administrations's statement about this incident, and here is the link to the Phoenix article:</p>
<p>The</a> Phoenix Online - Students leave the college under suspicions of drug use</p>
<p>February 14, 2008
Statement from the administration</p>
<p>Recently, substances believed to be drugs were found in a dorm room on campus and turned over to the Dean’s Office. That discovery and the subsequent actions taken by the Dean’s Office has been the source of speculation and rumor and we welcome this opportunity to clarify as much as we can. However there are many details that we cannot share for reasons including the need to protect the privacy of students involved. We also welcome the chance to speak more freely to the more important, larger issues of alcohol and drug policies at the college.</p>
<p>As for the particulars of recent events, one of the first things the Dean’s Office must do in any situation is gather information, check facts and assess the situation as best we can. Above all else, we must ensure the safety of all members of the community. The recent situation led us to talk to a number of students over the course of a couple of weeks. Based on information shared with us during these conversations, the Dean’s Office felt it important, necessary and right to turn the discovered materials over to the Swarthmore Borough Police. Moreover, these conversations ultimately led the Dean’s Office to three students whose alleged behaviors and activities warranted further discussion and scrutiny as possible violations of College policy.</p>
<p>The College’s investigation into these matters is ongoing and will lead to decisions about whether and when to proceed with formal disciplinary action. Those decisions will, of course, be based on the information gathered through this inquiry and follow the College’s established policies. At the same time, the College recognizes and supports the right of students to take a leave of absence from the College. A student who elects for personal reasons to take a leave does not avoid possible disciplinary consequences as those matters are held in abeyance and must be resolved if the student hopes or plans to return to the College.</p>
<p>We will continue to gather information and to try to understand this situation, and will work with students and others to heal the damage that we feel this situation has brought to the community. It may seem like strong language to say that there is damage that needs healing, but we hope that one recognizes that the possession and use of illegal drugs has the potential to invoke disruptive and unsafe behaviors, invite dangerous visitors, interrupt other students’ ability to work, endanger the health of the users, negatively effect the lives of those in the broader community to which the College belongs, and introduce any of a number of other stresses to the environment.</p>
<p>Garikai Campbell
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Swarthmore College</p>
<p>Phoenix Editorial</p>
<p>February 14, 2008
Drug policy enforcement
STAFF EDITORIAL</p>
<p>Almost three weeks ago, a male student left Swarthmore’s campus for the semester. He took a leave of absence, following a meeting with the Dean’s Office, surrounded by allegations of his possession of illegal substances. According to the student, his alleged possession of an illegal substance was discovered when officials from the Dean’s Office entered his room. The officials went into his refrigerator, where they discovered the allegedly illegal substances, according to the student. Since the discovery, other students have left and may be linked to the initial discovery. While some details of the case are not entirely clear due to privacy issues, the initial incident raises several important issues for students.</p>
<p>We are concerned by student use of hard drugs on this campus. We recognize, in the words of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Garikai Campbell ’90, that “the possession and use of illegal drugs has the potential to invoke disruptive and unsafe behaviors, invite dangerous visitors, interrupt other students’ ability to work, endanger the health of the users, negatively affect the lives of those in the broader community to which the College belongs and introduce any of a number of other stresses to the environment.” We also recognize the position in which the Dean’s Office finds itself, as risking negligence by not taking any actions and being morally bound to occasionally intervene in student affairs.</p>
<p>It is clear that many college students use drugs and that the harms of drug use outweigh the benefits, but it seems to us that the actions of the Dean’s Office in this case are a rare occurrence for this campus. The Dean’s Office obviously has good intentions when pursuing a substance user. Nonetheless, we are surprised by the way in which the Dean’s Office chose to pursue a remedy to this case; the Dean’s Office felt it “important, necessary and right” to turn over the discovered materials to the Swarthmore Borough Police, though is still gathering information to try to understand the situation. It is unclear as to whether or not there will be CJC hearings.</p>
<p>According to page 122 of the student handbook, “Any dean may enter and inspect a residence hall room without the resident’s consent if there is a reason to believe that any College regulation is being or has been violated.” We suspect that some students are not aware of this policy and recommend that students become better acquainted with the official policies of the college.</p>
<p>The actions of the Dean’s Office should serve as a warning to students engaging in dangerous behavior and putting their roommates and friends at risk. Students must be aware of their rights and responsibilities, along with the activities their friends and especially roommates partake in. As a result, students in a shared living arrangement, especially those who are necessarily placed in shared arrangements in their first year, must take on increased responsibility of the possessions kept in their “personal” spaces if they suspect that all is not well. It is important to be assertive about your living space, and if you need to go to the Deans, do so.</p>
<p>This issue was so in the Swat news and has now seemed to vanish. What has become of these students and will they be returning next semester ?</p>