Students facing suspension for alcohol or marijuana use might have another option this fall if recommendations from the Dean of Students’ drug and alcohol task force are approved.
The group has been working this quarter to develop new sanctions for illicit use of alcohol and marijuana. Once finalized tomorrow, the recommendations will be given to Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith, who will decide whether or not to implement them.
The current penalty for a first offense is a probation period and an educational class paid for by a $100 fee. A repeat offense can warrant a suspension. About 40-50 students are suspended for alcohol and marijuana violations each year, said •Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi.
In addition to the old sanctions for first offenses, the new recommendations would add a fine, from which the revenue would be used to fund student programs, Lombardi said.
“We’re gonna fund programs that could kind of be alternatives to alcohol and drug use,” he said, adding that the task force chose to support specific programs rather than funneling the money into the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Under the new guidelines, a student, when faced with suspension, could apply for an “alternative suspension” program, Lombardi said. If approved, the student would be required to live on-campus for one additional year and participate in meetings with residence life staff, as well as perform community service and remain on probation for the duration of his or her college career.
“This was the notion of kind of getting away from the punitive,” Lombardi said, adding that students who applied to the alternative suspension program would be interviewed before being accepted.
“Probably a lot of it, frankly, won’t be quantitative determination — It will be qualitative,” he said. “I can tell if (students) really get it … and I can tell if they don’t.”
—Joe Fox
jf250409@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCampus
