http://www.postandcourier.com/20160624/160629670/how-a-college-drug-ring-hid-in-plain-sight
Suspects include students and former students of College of Charleston and The Citadel. Many different kinds of illegal drugs were involved, and college students (not just at those colleges) appear to be a big market.
Is this story for real?
It has everything.
Murder, drugs, date rape drugs, drug dealing, racial elements, fraternities, China, million dollar homes…
This story is for real. Unfortunately, it’s not isolated to Charleston. They referenced several other major drug busts including one at Columbia University, Florida International University and San Diego State University. So while Charleston is currently in the spotlight , let’s not delude ourselves into believing that it can’t happen elsewhere .
@carolinamom2boys There is certainly a lot of drug use in some houses (and very little in others), but the reports of using pledges as couriers is frightening if true. You can be sure applications will drop over this story. My daughter is a rising junior, and Charleston was on our mental “list.” No more.
That’s unfortunate @EarlVanDorn . Good luck in your college search.
This sentence from the article stunned me: “At the University of South Carolina, three-quarters of the school’s chapters — 18 in all — have been closed or put on probation in the past three years for drug, hazing and alcohol violations, the Columbia Free Times reported this week.”
I am surprised by the huge scale of drug dealing described in the article, across multiple universities. I agree the practice of using fraternity pledges as drug couriers to other students is especially concerning.
It should not be stunning, since alcohol violations are relatively common at fraternities. Of course, writing a statement conflating (non-alcohol) drug and alcohol violations can cause some readers to believe that (non-alcohol) drug violations are more common than they are.
Non-alcohol drug violations are comparatively rare compared to alcohol violations, according to the University of South Carolina fraternity disciplinary information at https://www.sa.sc.edu/leadershipandservice/organizational-student-conduct/ .
What I don’t understand is at what point does it become so important to be a member of a group or organization that all common sense and mature decision making goes out the window? These are not children. No one forced these adults to make bad decisions . In fact one of them was smart enough to notify the police.
I don’t think that this happens because the kids involved want so badly to be a member of a group or organization. It happens because drug and alcohol culture is so deeply imbedded into colleges and universities that it becomes normalized. When you add in the huge amounts of money made by those who are involved in the trafficing of all these drugs (and who mostly get away with it), it’s not surprising that it’s rampant.
Let’s face it; it’s not just college administrators who turn a blind eye. Many, many parents tolerate their kids underage drinking and marijuana use in high school. They may say they don’t like it but they act like they are powerless to do anything about it and justify it by remembering their own youthful substance abuse. It’s not surprising that things escalate once these students arrive at universities.
@Joblue Then how do you account for the thousands of other students that don’t engage in the behaviors?
I agree that many times parents turn a blind eye to early drug use, and that does perpetuate the problem .
Many of these parents are the same ones that believe that their schools are exempt.
I never meant to imply that all or even the majority of college students engage in underage drinking and drug use. Obviously many don’t but even if those who do comprise say 35% (pulling that number out of thin air) of students enrolled in all American colleges and universities, it still is a huge number of undergraduates who are active participants in that culture. The line between someone who will use the drugs and those who sell them is much thinner than most people would like to admit. The kid who “parties” in high school with beer and vodka generally escalates when he/she goes to the freedom of the campus, ime. The students profiled in the above article didn’t seem to be disadvantaged and some of them came from quite privileged backgrounds but they seem to be drawn into the drug business by the big money and apparently the glamour of the lifestyle.
I just don’t think we can hold the colleges solely responsible for these situations.
I totally agree with you @Joblue that the colleges should not be held solely responsible . I also didn’t mean to imply that you implied that all or the majority of college students engage in drugs and drinking . My statement was for the many people who read this article and assume that it is rampant, make generalizations that it only happens at "those " other schools. The article clearly cited examples from all over the country , including an Ivy . What intake from that is it is not an isolated problem. It can happen anywhere . And until people are willing to recognize that , the problem will continue. Clearly the Charleston Police Department are working diligently to address the problem.
Wow! Never read about all of this. Somehow, it’s surprising in the scale of involvement and very scary!
I think this is a huge problem. I have a niece that graduated from TTU several years ago tell me that her and one other girl in her sorority were the only ones not to try heroin. Last year, 2 students at New College of Florida died of heroin overdoses within one week. I have known numerous kids that have gone to the ER for alcohol poisoning. For many students, partying seems to be the only reason to go to college and it is supplied by the fraternal system, the zones of bars surrounding schools and the tailgating mentality of students and alumni.
Kudos to the police department for busting up this drug ring. With a high demand and so much $$$ at stake, it’s no surprise that entrepreneurs in the illegal markets pop up around colleges and universities.
It doesn’t address all the issues, but USC is discussing ending pledging for fraternities (not recruitment just the ability to have requirements for pledging). Won’t happen this year fall, but greek life has seriously been put on notice. Hope it does some good.
Certainly won’t help with all this but USC is considering no longer allowing pledging (not recruitment).
http://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2016/06/usc-fraternity-pledging-ban
drugs at a college?? no way!
We are touring C of C next week. It will be hard not to picture the things in the Post and Courier article as we walk along. I know that many kids choose NOT to participate in such things… but it is a worrying article nonetheless. I guess it is a good wakeup call for further discussion regarding what your kid might be faced with (at any school) and an opportunity to strategize how to handle it if they come face to face with it…
I realize this sort of thing is not limited to fraternities, but that article did make me think twice about schools with greek life… I participated in greek life, but these aspects were things I never experienced.
@london203 My son will be attending CofC in the Fall. We just returned from orientation last week , and I will tell you that I am VERY impressed with the police department on campus and in Charleston. I also am friends with a local police officer, and I can tell you that there were some inaccuracies with that article . If your child chooses to attend CofC, they will be safer there now , even more than even last year. Drug use occurs on all college campus including the Ivies , UCs and Georgetown. Greek life was just one aspect of the problem. These pledges chose to participate , and it was one specific fraternity. There are many opportunities to participate in college life without Greek participation . After orientation last week , speaking to my friend and the police department on campus , I feel very comfortable with my son attending there. I commend the PD for their efforts, and I’m not naive enough to believe that it doesn’t happen at other schools. They just haven’t been caught yet. Good luck with your tour. It is truly a personal decision where your child attends. I totally understand needing to feel comfortable with that choice. Please feel free to PM if you have any questions regarding anything about CofC.