Pubdate: Tue, 15 Oct 2002
Source: Washington Square News (NY Edu)
Copyright: 2002, Washington Square News
Contact:  http://www.nyunews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1621
Note:  also listed as a contact

LIMIT DRUG CRACKDOWN

At his Town Hall meeting on Thursday, President John Sexton announced his 
intention to crack down on alcohol abuse, drug dealing and drug use in the 
dormitories. "I want to attack aggressively what I believe is a problem in 
our community of substance abuse and binge drinking," Sexton said.

Sexton has not yet specified how he intends to implement a more stringent 
policy on substance use in the dormitories. Current residence hall policy 
states that, "NYU reserves the right, at any time and for any reason, in 
its sole discretion, to enter the room without prior notice ... to inspect 
for compliance ... with NYU policies or regulations." In the past, this 
right was seldom exercised except for regular inspections during winter 
break. However, Sexton could use the regulation to authorize random and 
more frequent searches of dorm rooms.

While the university has a right to search students' rooms, it also has the 
responsibility to respect students' privacy. Were random searches to occur, 
as worthy as the cause might be, students would feel unsettled. Regardless 
of "guilt" or innocence, students should not have to live with the 
possibility of housing officials entering and searching their rooms at any 
time.

WSN cannot condone illegal activity in students' dorm rooms. However, 
students will not take kindly to a policy that exposes rooms to random 
searches, or imposes tough punishments for even the smallest infractions. 
We urge Sexton to consider carefully how he chooses to enforce his alcohol 
and drug abuse policies.
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MAP posted-by: Beth