Editor,
Who is Richard P. Harrison?
In Meghan Crosby's column Wednesday, Richard Harrison is painted as a privileged white administrator unfairly benefiting from special treatment at the hands of Ohio University and the justice system. While Crosby rightly points out the hypocrisy and inequities of the way we as a society and at this university treat drug users, I feel that she is way off the mark in singling out Rick and requesting harsher treatment of him.
I do know Harrison and know him to be a kind, compassionate, energetic advocate of social justice causes. As president of the board of UCM: Center for Spiritual Growth and Social Justice at OU, Harrison has worked tirelessly as an advocate for disadvantaged and underrepresented people and oversees groups such as Bridging the Diversity Gap, the Thursday night Free Supper, Coming Out Christian and Underground Railroad educational trips.
Many people view substance abuse and drug addiction as medical problems. Rather than advocating harsher punishment for Rick, perhaps we should be rallying against the unfair punishment handed out to students, minorities and the poor and instead seek a saner drug policy including medical treatment for all people in similar situations. It is my hope that OU will judge Rick by the quality of the work that he has performed in his current position.
Anna Nagy
anna.nagy@ohiou.edu
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