That’s an unfair enforcement disparity, Kelly says, so he’s working on two measures on behalf of a student chapter of NORML and SSDP (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for Sensible Drug Policy). The first is a ballot measure being voted on today by the UW student body – about 30,000 of them – which would advise the school to recognize that marijuana is safer than alcohol and that students should not be punished more by the school for the less harmful substance. The second is a student senate resolution.

Mason Tvert, who coordinates a national campaign called SAFER (Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation), believes students weigh the risks of the penalties between alcohol and pot and choose the more dangerous of the two drugs – alcohol. Students who would otherwise be content to hit the bong and watch Invader Zim, instead get wasted and cause problems. “Alcohol and marijuana are the two most common drugs on campus,” Tvert said. “But alcohol is associated with date rape, overdoses, and property damage,” he says.“Students have no problem drinking in dorm rooms, and schools even encourage 18- and 19-year-olds to drink responsibly. But students are afraid they will be removed from student housing for having a gram of marijuana.”

Whether the UW will actually equalize penalties if the measures pass is as hazy as the issue. The University of New Hampshire completely equalized marijuana penalties after a similar measure passed, but the University of Maryland ignored their student resolution — which prompted multiple state delegates to send official discourse arguing that the student body followed university procedures, and if the school failed to adopt the policy, it could damage democracy in the eyes of the students.