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Image provided by: Hobart and William Smith Colleges
m h the -m -m 11 era I cl — By and for the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges — VOLUME CXXX ISSUE 13 FRIDAY, MARCH 0 , 2 0 0 8 i GENEVA ,, NY Is HWS in bed with the White-Lady? An Investigation into Campus Cocaine Use By Peter Kirchhausen ’10 Herald Contributor Note: Due to the sensitivity o f the subject o f this, article, all participants i/Ojio provided information pertaining to illegal matters have been granted qnonymity. • Peruvian Party Powder, Nose candy, blow, call it what you will. The question remains; how widespread is cocaine use at HWS? Is it pervasive enough to warrant the stigmatized street title, “Snowbart and William Sniff,” a nickname that evokes quiet laughter mixed with dire concern? The common definition of both myth and legend has to do with imaginary or unverifiable existences, such as the notion that cocaine has a warm home in the noses of the HWS student body, at least at a higher percentage than at other upper crust institutions, where financial freedom reigns. This financial freedom is what an unnamed American University drug dealer exploits; “Yep. Trust fund babies. Best Targets.” If rampant cocaine use at HWS cannot be verified or at least anecdotally substantiated by facts and figures available from academic and government studies, police/security interviews, and student surveys, then what good is an elusively condemnable nickname going to provide the HWS student body and staff at large? According to Cal Brown, Head Director of Campus Security at HWS, there seems to be no more of a problem at HWS with cocaine than at any other colleges around with similar demographic/student makeups. In 2005, HWS security netted more than 1 pound of marijuana, 2 pounds of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and more than 6.7 ounces of cocaine, with a combined street value estimated at over $50,000. Apart from that seismic day in HWS history/there have been very few- public cocaine sightings or noteworthy busts. Brown admits that marijuana use is much more pervasive, which government studies confirm nationwide among college students. But he notes that unlike marijuana, which is more socially accepted by young people and especially college students, cocaine remains a much more stigmatized and low key drug. Although cocaine use might be a regular activity relegated to' a small circle of students, the consensus among people interviewed for this article who admitted to using cocaine is that they would much rather be labeled as a “pot head” than a “coke head.” According to Cal Brown, Head Director of Campus Security at HWS, there seems to be no more of a problem at HWS with cocaine than at any other colleges around with similar demographic/ student make ups. Geneva Police Chief Frank T. Pane commented that the Geneva Police Department works in collaboration with Hobart security, stepping in when called to handle more serious matters that a deputized police force would be more prepared to deal with. In another exchange with Chief Pane, he commented that drug use in Geneva was not relegated to any particular ethnic or social group, privileged or impoverished, but commented that due to such insulated environments in the comfort of one’s dwelling, it’s harder for police to crack down on drug use among more privileged groups. Statistically, according to a University of Michigan research study titled, “Monitoring the Future 2000,” since the late 1990s cocaine use among high school and college students has remained steady, after a spike in the mid ‘80s. In 2005, Columbia’s Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported that use of cocaine among college students has risen from a faint 2.7% in 1993 to nearly 6 % in 2005, more than doubling. More alarmingly, the Columbia study found that, “ college students have higher rates of alcohol or drug addiction than the general public: 22.9% of students meet the medical definition for alcohol or drug abuse or dependence — a compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences — compared with 8.5% of all people 12 and older.\ Nearly 9% of college students, according to the 2005 study, had tried cocaine at least once. If the “Snowbart and William Sniff label truly fits the realities at HWS, the national average of college- aged students who use regularly, which is stated to be 6 %, would have to be substantially higher. In a 24 hour period, just under 100 people took part in an unscientific poll conducted by The Herald, pertaining to cocaine use at HWS. Even with an unscientific poll, it was clear that cocaine is on campus, but that’s not unique to HWS. 67% of respondents said they knew someone on campus who has used cocaine. With 9% of college students nationally having tried cocaine at least once, knowing someone who has used is not surprising. Over 80% had never used cocaine. 60% of respondents believed that they knew where to look if they wanted to purchase cocaine. A female senior from William Smith stated, “I don’t know someone directly who would have it, but I know a bunch pf people who know where to get it. Actually, I take that back. I know one person who I could always go right to and g e t Scale 1 being hard, 10 being easy - 1 would say 7.” But that quote coming from HWS doesn’t contrast much from this statement from a junior at Columbia, “Yeah I could get it, probably about a 7 with 1 being Bald Eagle heads, 10 being Chipotle burrito,” or this statement from a Union graduate, ‘Today, I would have no idea where to go. In college, I could have found coke within an hour if I wanted it” A more hesitant but re-affirming quote coming from Ithaca College reveals the ease of acquisition, even among non-users; “If I needed it I wouldn’t know where to go, but one of my friends would. I’d COCAINE continued on Page 3 Why I Relay > By Sarah McGuinnes Herald Contributor ■Z When I was a little girl and I would jt&ve a stomachache, my father would Sit and tell me silly stories to try to distract me.. Before I knew it I would be all better; completely healed and laughing. When I was fourteen my father started to get stomachaches but np amount of story telling could distract his pain. After a series of jaisdiagnosis, my family and I found out that my father’s pain was more tfihnjust a stomachache, y hi November of 1999, my father iSas told that he had stage four- jfancreatic cancer. It was bard for my family to be optimistic with this type (£ diagnosis* not only was his cancer 10 the most, progressive stage but pancreatic cancer also has the highest fatality rate and considered one of t&e: most painful among all cancers, ver, through it all, my father always maintained a positive attitude. He worried more about trying to help me deal with the diagnosis than himself or his pain. Pancreatic Cancer usually affects much older people so as a young and healthy man who did not fit the typical patient type, he was able to receive numerous progressive chemotherapy treatments. The treatments at first seethed to be helping, being that the average person diagnosed with pancreatic cancer only lives on sue months from diagnosis. But as time passed, his body stopped responding and the cancer progressed. Nothing seemed to work any longer, and I watched my father who was a strong and healthy firefighter at the time of diagnosis, grow increasingly weaker and fade away as the cancer progressed; On May 25th 2001 my father lost .his fight with pancreatic cancer. Hut Results are in: What the HWS Campus really thinks of the “Safe Ride” By William Smith Congress Troubles with the shuttle on yourmindlatelyPYou’renottheonly one. After a series of complaints in thestudentgovernmentsregarding the shuttle, a survey was compiled by William Smith Congress to gain feedback on the effectiveness of the Safe Ride. Nearly a % of the studentbody completed the survey and the results are highlighted below. First, h ere’s a little background on the shuttle system. As seniors know, the Safe Ride is a relatively new development on this campus. Prior to the Safe Ride system, the school contracted with a shuttle bus service which ran a route around campus. This service was utilized much less than the current safe ride set-up arid the service was a t a much higher cost to the institution. Beginning in the spring of 2005, after assaults on campus led to concern over the safety of students, a new system was devised known as the Safe Ride. In the mission statement of the Safe Ride on the HWS website it reads “the purpose of the shuttle is to proride a safe ride to students who will b e walking alone”. This system was developed in consultation with the student governments (who assist in funding the Safe Ride) in order to b etter m eet students’ needs. On thewebsitethecampussafetyoffice also lists hours for their downtown shuttle service on the weekends and particular stops. According to the website, the weekend shuttle runs a route around campus and through downtown hitting spots such as the Smith Opera H o u s e . ■ andtheapartrtientsat380every20 * minutes. This system h as remained in place with some changes since Spring 2005 when the changes . were implemented. Now, three years after the implementation of the Safe Ride system, many students are questioningthissystemforavariety of reasons. Several of Professor of Economics Tom Drennen’s students are working on a shuttle system that would be eco-friendly and would further the goals of the President’s Climate Commitment In student government meetings, many students have raised concern over the time it takes to wait for a SHUTTLE continued on Page 5 As part of Disability Aware ness Month Jonathan Mooney, founder of Project Eye-to- Eye, will speak on campus Photos Courtesy of-. htty//wwwjoruithanmooncyom/ c and bttpy/cwri3aiablogjpotcom/2007_08_0tjrchivc.html Inside simply; I was consumed by feelings of emptiness and hopelessness. The following year I decided to join with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and while the empty feeling of losing my father still and will always remain, the hopelessness that I once felt has turned to a newfound ambition to work towards a cure for cancer. This year The Colleges will host their very first Relay for life and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor my father’s memory than by becoming committee chair of cancer survivors as well as the luminaria ceremony,' Please join me and my team as we celebrate all of those who have lost their battles with cancer, honor those who have been diagnosed and are still with us, and raise funds for the American Cancer Society so that one day in the future fathers like mine : can continue to tell their daughters stories. • ' J CAMPUS HAPPENINGS Upcoming Events OPINIONS Words From an Alum PERSPECTIVES AND EL HERALDO LAO Celebrates Anita Carflzares • \ k ^ \ ‘ . Islamaphobia .. f ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Yesonia Tells It Like It Is SPORTS This Week In Sports Student Profiles _
