by Zach F

Created on: December 23, 2009

Colleges should not punish marijuana use any more severely than underage drinking.  In fact, neither should be punished by the University in any situations other than in the dorms and for student athletes.

An alarming trend is increasingly apparent where universities are expected to police their student bodies.  This trend should be of great concern.  College is about more than what students learn in class.  College is about students learning about adult life, and learning to make responsible decisions.  College is about social interaction and learning to meet new people and make new friends.  College is about becoming an adult.

Although many parents are nervous about their coddled 18 year old going away unsupervised, this is an important step toward adulthood.  Colleges are there to educate, not to baby sit.  By “punishing” students for their out-of-the-classroom activities, colleges are becoming nothing more than babysitters.  They are taking over the responsibility and accountability for students’ decisions.  Keep in mind that although still young, their students are legally adults.

In preparing students for the real world, punishing them for their recreational consumption of alcohol or marijuana is a real disservice.  In the real world, an employer will not “suspend” an employee for such activities.  That is, of course, unless it affects their work performance.  Students should be held accountable by the university for their academic performance.  If marijuana or alcohol use affects that performance, then students will be held accountable.

In cases, such as athletics or dorm residents, where alcohol and drug use is punished by the university, the two should be treated the same.  Regardless of whether it is alcohol or marijuana, both are illegal for that particular student to consume.  Also, the punishment should not be for the broken law.  The police and courts can handle that aspect.  The punishment should be for violating the terms of a particular agreement.  In the case of dorm residents, that is their lease.  In the case of athletes, it is usually an athletic code of conduct.

Rather than place moral judgment on the “severity” of a particular violation, the university should emphasize the morality, and culpability, of breaking any part of that agreement.  Whether it is underage drinking, marijuana use, or failure to meet set academic standards should be irrelevant.  In any case, the student made an agreement with the university and failed to meet their end of the bargain.  This, rather than any particular action, is what should be punished.

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