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The Student Association Senate passed a resolution Tuesday night
submitted by GW's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws, which calls for the reduction of sanctions imposed
on students caught using marijuana.
Greg Hersh, president of GW NORML, proposed
that sanctions imposed for marijuana use be less than or equal to
alcohol violations.
Eviction from campus housing is the
minimum sanction for students caught violating drug policy, while it
may take more than three liquor violations before a student is evicted
from campus for illegal alcohol use, according to the GW Code of
Student Conduct. However, all violations are evaluated on a
case-by-case basis and could be "more or less severe than what is
recommended," said Tara Woolfson, director of Student Judicial
Services, in an October 2005 interview with The Hatchet.
"We
need to change (the University's) policies and reduce the harm done to
students," said Hersh, who was accompanied by a dozen NORML members at
Tuesday's meeting in the Marvin Center.
GW NORML needed to
obtain 100 student signatures in a petition in order for the resolution
to be introduced in the SA Senate, without a senator's sponsorship.
"It
gives much more legitimacy to our group," said Hersh about bringing the
resolution from the student body. "It shows the will of the students.
The SA will now help share the responsibility."
SA Sen. Kevin
Kozlowski (ESIA-U) said that the approval of the resolution was "the
most important thing" accomplished in this year's SA.
"I have never seen so much passion," said Kozlowski, a sophomore. "This is something submitted for students by the students."
The
resolution did face some opposition in the body. According to SA Sen.
Michael Gettlin (SoB-G), a graduate student, the resolution does not
properly convey NORML's arguments to the University about conflicting
regulations on alcohol and marijuana use.
"I would have
preferred to see a resolution that reflected NORML's concerns about
what they perceived to be inconsistent enforcement of discipline at the
University as opposed to the merits of having equal punishments for
marijuana use and underage alcohol consumption," said Gettlin, who
voted against the resolution. If signed by SA President Lamar Thorpe, a
senior, the resolution will be transmitted to GW administrators and the
GW Board of Trustees' student affairs committee for consideration.
In
October 2005, University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg said in an
interview with The Hatchet that the University will "probably not"
change its drug policies. NORML has been lobbying for change of policy
but has been working on developing this SA resolution since the
beginning of the year.
The SA Senate also passed a "Mid-Year
Review and Adjustment Act" and a resolution calling for the removal of
student's Social Security Numbers on official University transcripts
and documents.
The "Adjustment Act" allocated $3,100 to student
organizations and made $30,000 available in the SA co-sponsorship fund,
said SA Sen. Andrew Salzman (GSEHD), chair of the finance committee.
The Senate also allocated $5,000 to the Joint Elections Committee, the
five-person body overseeing this year's elections.
The senate will not meet next week. The next senate meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20, the day before the SA Elections.
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