If illegal off campus, then illegal on campus

This archived article was written by: Seth Richards

If it isn’t legal off campus, it’s not legal on campus. It is illegal for minors to drink, for anyone to have controlled substance without prescriptions and it is illegal to smoke within 25 feet of a public building.
On campus you can’t drink, take part in the consumption of illegal drugs, take lighters into dormitories and it is citable to have paraphernalia that would implicate deviant behavior, e.g. devices designed for the smoking of drugs, alcohol containers (after drinking this can include your body), unlabeled pill bottles, or a stack of needles and rubber bands.
These laws don’t exist for the police to come terrorize people who happen to come into possession. While many exist to protect others from those who might come under the influence of certain substances, most exist to protect the person who is taking part in this deviant behavior.
While it may give you a false happy now, in ten years that drug will have rotted your teeth, rendered you penniless, and if it hasn’t put you into a catatonic state, then it will in all likelihood have lowered your cognitive abilities.
People who choose to participate in such activities as drug abuse or drinking may not get caught in the act today, they may not get caught tomorrow, but sooner or later people so disposed to do such stupid things will get caught doing something stupid and in all likelihood ruin their lives.
Ten years later when applying for a job, those who do end up with felony charges against them will have a hard time justifying that party even to the McDonalds management.
Other items and practices that fall onto the campus forbidden list include extension chords, plugging power strips into other power strips, and covering smoke detectors. Students should also be aware that it is a citable offense to pull a fire alarm without a fire, if you wouldn’t yell fire in a crowded theatre, then it doesn’t make any more sense to evacuate a building with the exception of the most dire of circumstances.
Whether it is by a resident advisor on a routine health and safety check, or by a call to the silent witness number, dirt has a way of being found and the results can be sinister.
Punishments for these crimes, citable offences, and deviations from the socially accepted norm range from a verbal warning, to the seizure of illicit property, to fines and counseling, to being thrown in the pokey and charged with first degree felonies and spending the rest of your life asking yourself, your deity, and society why you were so stupid. Punishments will be judged by circumstances and made to fit the crime.
Officer James Prettyman of the campus police and residential life encourages students to adhere to the laws of the state and campus while at CEU. “This is the beginning.” Says Prettyman, “Your future starts right here.” Some errors are to extreme to walk away from. All students are encouraged to abide by the laws and student code of conduct for their own safety and the safety of others.
Silent Witness Calls Made to (435) 613-5635 can be made to report theft, vandalism, or any other criminal behavior.