I am writing in regard to your article published last week about Jefferson Hall.
I lived in Jeff last year (along with Gabi Aziz), and though I do not know her, I can say that 100 percent of her claims were false.
You quoted her saying, “It was common to find bags of marijuana, needles and pill bottles around the residence hall.”
After living there for a full school year, at no point did I ever see anything drug-related around the hall, let alone “commonly” so.
You also quoted her making a false generalization: “Everyone knew that if your door was closed and you heard coughing, they were doing drugs in there.”
I had laryngitis last year during Fall Quarter and can say with certainty that I coughed.
I can only hope that my neighbors didn’t think I was smoking weed.
In regards to Jeff Hall’s designated scent being “the smell of weed,” I also disagree.
However, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t smell weed in the stairwells from time to time. It was not nearly as often as the article made it seem, though.
Aziz was also quoted saying police officers were seen in Jefferson Hall daily. Not once did I see an OUPD officer in Jeff last year. Even if they did come, OUPD routinely walks the halls of residence halls just for safety purposes.
After being quoted several times about the drug problem in Jeff last year, Aziz said: “I have nothing bad to say about the dorm.”
The article is biased and makes false generalizations about the people who lived in Jeff last year. I never smoked weed inside Jeff Hall, but according to the article, since I lived in Jeff, I must have smoked on a daily basis. The article is only building Jeff’s reputation as a party dorm and a picturesque place to get away with smoking weed.
I’m offended that Aziz was chosen to represent me and everyone else who lived in Jeff last year.
Katie Thoburn is a sophomore studying middle childhood education.
