Who is Richard P. Harrison?
You probably have no clue. And you shouldn't. When he was arrested on Court Street last September with nearly one gram of cocaine, the press dropped the issue like it was hot. There were a few skimpy articles on the arrest. That was it. No follow-ups or updates. Nothing. So the name, Richard Harrison, is likely not commonplace to you.
But it should be.
Richard Harrison is your assistant dean for student affairs development. He works under Vice President for Student Affairs Mike Sostarich. Before his little incident, you could find him in your university center - room 202 to be exact.
Today, you probably won't find him in Baker if you decide to visit. That would be bad for the university. You know, having someone accused of a fifth-degree felony just hanging around.
But he is still handling your student affairs, even though he's not on campus.
So why is Harrison still employed by Ohio University? Why is he still overseeing the development of student affairs when clearly, he cannot handle his own affairs?
I spent one sunny lunch hour in the Athens County Courthouse to pull Harrison's records. Then I went to Baker 202 to see if Harrison was there. No luck. But I did speak with Dean of Students Terry Hogan. He was nice, but he wouldn't tell me why OU still employs Harrison. I did discover that Harrison is responsible for raising private money to support student activities and initiatives.
Harrison raises money to promote good things like character and leadership education and the Greek Leadership academy, according to the OU Web site. And speaking of Greeks, Harrison is the adviser for Phi Kappa Tau, a fraternity that values ethical leadership and exemplary character. Harrison advises the guys about those kinds of things.
In January, he was indicted by a grand jury for possession of cocaine. This is a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to one year in prison.
Harrison's arraignment was the morning of Feb. 18, and he requested intervention instead of jail time.
So the court granted that Harrison attend intervention sessions at the Shawnee Forensic Center in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Jonathan Sowash, of the Athens law firm Sowash, Carson & Ferrier, is Harrison's attorney. Sowash told me that intervention is an option for offenders that have no previous felonies and that Harrison's case will be wrapping up soon.
When the judge makes a final decision
Richard will make his decision as to whether he will remain employed with OU and the university will also make their decision regarding his employment said Sowash.
According to Harrison's court records, the hearing during which a decision will be made is scheduled for April 27.
The judge who will decide Harrison's fate is Michael Ward... and Ward is up for re-election. If Ward lets Harrison off the hook, he should have to answer to the people of Athens.
Intervention is not enough for Richard Harrison.
One gram of powder cocaine generally yields five to ten doses. That means that he had enough on him to be charged with intent to distribute.
But say he was caught with one gram of crack cocaine. That would automatically have upgraded the severity of his sentence to a fourth degree felony.
And five grams of crack would've earned him five years behind bars; but it takes 500 grams of cocaine to get a five-year sentence. Is having crack really one hundred times worse than having pure cocaine?
For Harrison's one gram of blow, he got intervention - a punk punitive measure that our sell-out society reserves for white men with big salaries, in high positions or for black athletes.
That kind of preferential treatment exists for people like Harrison, who know people and who can pay their way out.
The intervention program at the Shawnee Forensic Center costs money. A lot of money. Harrison is on record as having made a $298 deposit there, and as paying $55 an hour for his initial evaluation.
What if it was a student caught with a gram of cocaine? Or an addicted woman who has lived in Appalachia her whole life? Or a black man? Would they have been given the benefit of the doubt? Would intervention be enough? Could they afford to pay? Would race get in the way?
Or what if some students got so fed up with our sell-out society's off-balanced class and race structure that they decided to riot on Court Street one night?
Surely some police atop horses would approach them and demand that they break it up. But what if the students failed to disperse?
Well, then they would lose their financial aid and have to drop out of college.
But it is all right for a dean - who handles those very students' affairs -to walk around disturbing the peace with a bag of cocaine in his shoe. It's good for him to keep his job. It's even better not to talk about it because it is a personnel matter and because he has a lot of friends in Athens.
Whoever said the justice lady was blindfolded lied.
If a student's right to attend the university (which they pay for) can be jeopardized for failure to disperse, then it is only fitting that a highly visible administrator lose their job and salary (which we pay for) after they commit a felony in the middle of Court Street.
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Meghan Crosby
