Last week, six students at the University of California-Santa Cruz were arrested for being part of an international MDMA, or ecstasy, ring.
Police found that the convicted students had 5,000 tablets of ecstasy. That’s equivalent to 4.1 pounds and worth over $100,000. According to USA Today College, police discovered that multiple shipments of the drug were sent to the students at three different homes in Santa Cruz.
All six of the students are involved in Greek life at the university. Some of the convicted students held leadership roles in their Greek organizations, a troubling fact to university faculty. The two organizations work closely with each other and both have suspended activities temporarily, due to the zero-tolerance policies they hold. No, selling drugs does not count as a philanthropic activity.
The local community is concerned about the use of drugs on college campuses, especially when it comes to issues like sexual assault. Police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke told the The Los Angeles Times, “The drug alters perception and awareness, as well as increasing emotions of trust and lowering inhibitions oftentimes resulting in sexual exploitation. This dangerous combination undermines the efforts of affirmative consent work undertaken by many college campuses.”
The students have been placed on interim suspension, and depending how the trials go, may face possible expulsion. What do you think? Is that too heavy of a consequence, or is it high time that universities crack down on drug issues?