Was student privacy violated?

College Life
1

Here’s the scenario, in a dorm room with 2 students.

Student 1 had weed in the room(wasn’t smoking but it still smelled), then left the room to go to the bathroom. Public safety showed up just as student1 was returning, asked what the smell was, and he admitted it was weed. Public safety enters room, and sees an empty bottle of vodka on student 2’s desk. They then claim they have evidence to do a full room search. All the while, student 2 is asleep in his top bunk and no one bothers to wake him up. He wakes up on his own, with public safety going through his desk and personal belongings. They find weed in his desk, and a fake ID in his backpack. Student 2 did nothing to give suspicion of illegal activity, and wasn’t consulted or made aware of a search of his personal belongings.

Were any rights violated on behalf of student 2?

Here’s the text of the housing contract that was signed by student 2 at the beginning of the year:

RIGHT OF ENTRY AND SEARCH

  1. The University reserves the right to enter any Student’s room or unit without notice to (a) inspect for
    condition of room and compliance with safety regulations; (b) repair, maintain, or clean; © respond to
    reported or perceived emergency situations; (d) enforce University policies; and (e) ensure that the building
    is vacated in fire drills, during vacation periods, and in health and safety emergencies. Authorized
    representatives of the University may address violations of University policy discovered upon entering a
    Student’s room or unit.
  2. Rooms and units will be searched only with the voluntary consent (waiver) of Student unless an
    Administrative Search authorization has been granted by the Vice Provost for Student Life or designee or a
    search warrant has been issued by a court of law. The student(s) will be informed of the reason for any
    room or unit search

Perhaps they had the right to enter the room after student 1 admitted to smoking, but in regards to the room search, student 2 never gave voluntary consent, nor was he informed of the reason of the search. His belonging were searched without anyone bothering to even wake him up.

2

I am wondering why public safety was there in the first place. I mean did your RA or someone on the floor call them in complaining about the smell? I mean weed is strong and kind of hard to pinpoint where it is coming from sometimes. I am wondering why roommate 1 told public safety so readily that is was theirs. Once public safety enters the room they are able to search the area. I don’t know if they can actually go through someone’s desk and backpack though. That seems kind of iffy to me. I feel the RA needs to be present and the people in the room notified that their personal belongings will be searched. I mean yes there was an empty bottle of alcohol which even if the person drank it or not it is still in the room which is a problem. However, there shouldn’t be charges pressed about the weed and fake id…I think. I am not entirely sure. By looking at your housing contract it seems that public safety might have broken it by searching through a student’s personal backpack and desk. I am wondering what happened to the two roommates. I hope it is nothing incredibly harsh considering it seems like a first time offense. However, I know some schools are incredibly strict about alcohol offenses and will suspend/expel students . I hope everything goes okay.

3

I would look to be sure that #2 doesn’t have any other clauses that would affect it elsewhere in the handbook. Otherwise, it seems like they infringed on the second clause. Student 2 did not give consent for their room to be searched. That said, if student 1 gave consent, I think it would be fair game since it is his room. All under technical as written, not moral.

4

Part of clause 2 that seems like a loophole for public safety is “unless an Administrative Search authorization has been granted by the Vice Provost for Student Life”… as far as I can tell it doesn’t dictate anywhere in the handbook what qualifies the Vice Provost to grant a search warrant.

Tha RA was present, as well as an RA from another floor. However, the student involved obviously wasn’t made aware as they didn’t bother to wake him up. @collegegurl95‌ @PengsPhils‌

5

It doesn’t say that they are obligated to inform the student of the reason for the search before it takes place, just that they are obligated to inform them. They may have been planning to wake #2 up after the search, and it was simply coincidence that he woke up first. Was he, upon waking, told the reason for the search?

2's best bet is a lawyer. One who can more easily set aside prejudices against a student who obviously didn't have school on the mind when he acquired a fake ID, illegal drugs, and alcohol.

6

Student 2 needs a lawyer. This isn’t legal advice. I am not a lawyer.

Found this from USFCA’s website:

The University’s representative reserves the right to enter any Student’s room without notice to (d) enforce University policies regarding Student 1’s admission to having weed in the room. Now that the representative is inside of the room, the representative addresses the violations of University policy discovered upon entry. Seeing probable cause, the rep searched the room and probably requested a search warrant after the fact.

The way the more detailed policy on Administrative Warrants is written (and this is what they use), it sounds like the public safety officers can make a search once they have probably cause (you admitted to having weed in the room). The warrant’s only a formality (IF THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS BELIEVE THERE IS A NEED) to make sure that they got everything out of the room. It sounds like it’s all up to the public safety officer.

My best guess is no, the student’s rights were NOT violated. Lawyer up.

7

Thanks for your thoughts @susieAnne @Vctory