As mandated by the federal government, the Division of Environmental Health and Public Safety released an aggregated campus crime data set for the 2010 academic year.
Deputy Chief of Campus Police Jon Barnwell sent an email containing the information to all students. The report covers the 2007-10 school years. Although N.C . State averaged crime rates far below those of North Carolina cities, students were most concerned with the fluctuation in on-campus alcohol and drug-related offenses.
The federal law that stipulates crime data must be released is called the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act. This act requires campuses to disclose information on drug and alcohol offenses.
Campus judicial action nearly tripled for drug-related offenses between 2007 and 2010, while alcohol- related offenses were nearly cut in half, according to the report.
Eric Tomins , a freshman in administration, lives in Owen residence hall. He said he knew of people on his hall who had been caught drinking late at night by a resident assistant.
“I don’t know of anyone who got in trouble for weed, but a bunch of kids got busted for drinking. It was late at night and they had the music up really loud. They had their window open like idiots and the R.A . just walked outside and saw them,” Tomins said.
Besides those who got caught in Owen, Tomins said he also has a friend who got caught drinking on campus.
“My friend, who lives in Avent Ferry Complex, was drinking downtown one night. When he got back, he was busted for being drunk on campus,” Tomins said.
His friend had to complete an alcohol course, as well as write a three-page paper for the University.
“He has to go and prove he learned his lesson,” Tomins said.
Students caught drinking are referred to the Office of Student Conduct and its director Paul Cousins. He sits down on a one-to-one basis with those accused and goes over academic standing and previous conduct problems — if any exist. Cousins demands students write a paper to state what they did wrong and how they will aim to prevent it from happening again.
Student Conduct also refers students who violate alcohol and drug rules to the on-campus AlcoholEdu director. He runs the alcohol education class which Tomins referred to.
Joel Stiling , a sophomore in political science, said he agrees with the way the University handles drug violations.
“I’m anti-drugs period, but I believe [campus citations are] a necessary step for overcoming their addictions. People in those situations tend to have a psychological draw toward drugs,” Stiling said.
He has a friend who was caught with marijuana on campus and evicted from his dorm. His friend’s roommate had also been kicked out of his dormitory about a month before.
“I know that he knows he made a poor decision, and I think he has learned from it. He seems like he is a better person because of it,” Stiling said.
The FBI does not keep track of city-by-city drug and alcohol violations, so therefore N.C . State’s numbers cannot be compared with those of neighboring cities.