<p>Many are knocking the school but I’m a little skeptical that the RM knows his punishment at this point. The OP posted yesterday at 7:30 p.m. and said the room was “just searched”. At 9:00, the OP said the RM had called her son saying he lost his scholarship. I’m guessing he was told of possible consequences, not actual consequences. I can’t believe that even the most conservative Jesuit college is not going to have due process and a hearing before yanking a scholarship and kicking someone out of the dorm and that’s not going to happen in an hour and a half. </p>
<p>We live in a state where pot is decriminalized and also allowed for medical use. Even at a state school, and even students with a Medical Use card cannot use or possess pot on campus because of federal law; there are still federal laws against the use of marijuana. If a school accepts any federal money, federal law trumps state law and the school has to not allow marijuana on campus. We’ve heard that at prospective student tours and admitted student tours at three state schools in two different states.</p>
<p>“The OP posted yesterday at 7:30 p.m. and said the room was just searched. At 9:00, the OP said the RM had called her son saying he lost his scholarship.”</p>
<p>Apparently the RM was caught and cuffed (which blows my mind), and taken away an hour before the room was searched. My son thinks he fainted because he just gave blood and hadn’t eaten compounded by the stress. They also took his phone when they took him in so he couldn’t call anyone to “warn” them (like my son). They didn’t return his phone until he got to the hospital. </p>
<p>The confiscation of his phone also disturbs me…again, not for my son but for the RM. We have plenty of resources in our family, legal and otherwise, but I don’t think it’s the case for my son’s RM.</p>
<p>I read post 25 from the OP. I get exactly an opposite interpretation than the OP.
Is it reasonable to want to search the room of a guy caught with drugs? Yes, I think so.
Or put another way- “they had no reason to search the room of a guy caught with drugs” Really? Of course they did. The guy was caught with drugs!</p>
<p>Quoting the Op"
…reasonable search of a student or areas under the student’s control, without notice, in emergency situations, for spot inspections, in cases of suspected or alleged violation
of University policy,… "</p>
<p>That is exactly what happened. The school had a REASON to suspect illegal activity, so they chose to do a spot inspection of areas within the student’s control. Roommates closet or desk for example, would be within control of both students unless there was a lock on it.</p>
<p>It is unfortunate the S that had never been in trouble chose to obtain false identification, and that the S that hadn’t been in trouble before (probably) looked the other way with roommates drug use, but don’t blame the school for catching this infraction. It’s like a guy robbing a jewelry store blaming the police if he gets caught.</p>
<p>So to the poster whose daughter lived in fear of getting in trouble for her roommate’s empties/drinking. My D had a similar situation freshman year. She talked to her roommate and told her she cannot store alcohol in the room because then they could both get in trouble. Once the roommate got rid of what she had (or told D she had), D also quietly talked to her RA to make the situation clear in case the roommate did get caught later on. About halfway through the year, D moved out to a room with a roommate who wasn’t breaking the rules. Your kids always have a choice in these situations.</p>
<p>Also, to the person who thought this thread was being “hijacked” to a discussion of the decriminalization of pot, the OP is the one who said to legalize it after one of her rants about how unfair this is to the poor RM.</p>
<p>"It is unfortunate the S that had never been in trouble chose to obtain false identification, and that the S that hadn’t been in trouble before (probably) looked the other way with roommates drug use, but don’t blame the school for catching this infraction. It’s like a guy robbing a jewelry store blaming the police if he gets caught. "</p>
<p>Yes, I’m sure he looked the other way. As my older son who is also in college recently said “snitches get stiches” after some upstanding young man at his college ratted out his roomate for using marijuana and the kid was expelled and lost his FA.</p>
<p>Personally, I’m glad my sons aren’t like that. I hope he and his parents are proud.</p>
<p>Well, there’s more than one conversation going on here. 1. Many of us believe you better know the rules of where you are and abide by them, and this is what we tell our kids. 2. Some of us are a little bit skeptical of the manner in which the rules are currently being enforced in certain environments. 3. Some of us believe some of the laws ought to be changed.</p>
<p>However, just because I believe the rules are being enforced harshly in this case, or that some of the laws are, in fact, not effective anyway and need to be reevaluated, does not mean I think students should ignore them. The reality is, however, many do.</p>
<p>Yes, intparent, I think that’s the way to go, too. I’ve known folks in housing at the college my d1 will attend next fall. If a roommate is going to be keeping beer in the fridge, the best course of action is for the non-drinking roommate to let the RA know. It protects the non-drinker if ever there’s cause for a search and alcohol is found.</p>
<p>How about just telling school you know you did wrong, you will coopperate with any investigatin (like who is supplying said id) and you respectfully ask for a second chance. Did he not know fake id was wrong
When school/police asked to search room did he positively affirm his rights to privacy or simply passively give up those rights. I have been in law enforcement for 21 yrs and absolutely am frustrated with parents who immediately look at what others have done wrong instead of what their own child did.</p>
<p>AZmom, that is exactly what we plan to do and say, although if they start asking where he got the ID, we will have a lawyer present. My husband is extremely diplomatic and our son is contrite, publically. We all know that our son did something wrong and he will pay a price for it.</p>
<p>That doesn’t mean that I’m happy about it or that I agree with the tactics and punishment. It also doesn’t mean that we aren’t throughly investigating whether our sons rights weren’t violated.</p>
<p>Someone near and dear to me had a fake ID arrest and deferred adjudication after high attorney bills. I will also add that when my kid moved into his freshman dorm (at an Ivy), EVERY freshman (male and female) on his floor had a fake ID. They were all comparing them. In many states possession of counterfeit identification is a felony and local jurisdictions use the arrests as a money-maker. The legal fees are high, you pretty much are assured the deferred adjudication (requires some community service work and a probation period) and it’s gone. You can then get it expunged from your record. </p>
<p>That said, I don’t know what authority campus police have to do much with it- although it does appear to be a violation of the school rules.</p>
<p>OP…I think you need to do what ever is necessary to help your son in the way you see fit. And…I should probably just let this comment go…but…</p>
<p>Non medical marijuana use is illegal just about everywhere in the US. There are some people extremely uncomfortable with any illegal activity…even if it is considered “minor” by others. Perhaps the “snitch” was this type of person …or had a family that had sacrificed a lot for their kid to be in school, or the kid was on FA and did not want to risk being caught with whatever the roommate was doing. Don’t know the circumstances…but I would not be so quick to claim superiority.</p>
<p>Thank you momofwildchild, and I didn’t want to say it but I also know that 99% of college students have fake ID’s, particularly at schools with no greek life and very little off-campus housing - there are very few parties and kids will go to bars.</p>
<p>In fact, I would venture to guess that over 90% of HS seniors have fake ID’s. I know it doesn’t make it right, but if campus police turned every dorm room inside out confiscating fake ID’s and punishing students would be a fulltime endeavor.</p>
<p>In some states, using a fake DL can get your driver’s license suspended for a year…</p>
<p>I’m going to guess that deferred suspension from on campus housing means that he’s on “double secret probation”–OK for now, but any other infraction will get him tossed from on campus housing.</p>
<p>Possession of fake ID is not punished as harshly as USING fake ID. </p>
<p>I suspect that a lot of kids at that college are shredding their fake IDs as we speak…</p>
<p>Coleytown, I said I didn’t think the school would hand down a punishment in 1.5 hours and you responded “Apparently the RM was caught and cuffed (which blows my mind), and taken away an hour before the room was searched.” I don’t think the school would yank a large scholarship and kick someone out of the dorm in 2.5 hours either. I would imagine there would be a hearing in upcoming days. </p>
<p>Kayf said earlier: “But I would suggest, in the Jesuit tradition, that sometimes we must do more than the law requires, and less than the law allows.” I think the school still might do just this … it’s very early.</p>
<p>I think it’s also possible that the RM, this “great” kid, might have a drug problem. Getting high, out in the open (pretty risky), all by himself, suggests someone who’s using pot for more than social reasons.</p>
<p>By no means am I claiming superiority, my kids aren’t perfect, neither am I.</p>
<p>I just think that the snitch could have handled it differently by requesting a room change (like another posters child did) or by moving into a substance free dorm.</p>
<p>My older sons school is in an area known for marijuana use, it’s used openly on the streets off-campus and I’ve never visited him at school without smelling it. It’s common knowledge that the local police tolerate pot-smoking. </p>
<p>I don’t think the kid who told on his ex-roommate is going to enjoy his time at college.</p>
<p>I would just note that if the OP’s son had had the fake ID on his person, in his wallet, this would not have occurred. The police would have to have a greater justification to search his person than to search a shared dorm room.</p>
<p>And one other note for any students reading this who might have fake IDs: don’t show the police a fake ID. If you’re in a bar, and the police come in and check IDs, it may better to take the rap for underage drinking than for using a fake ID.</p>