When I was an itty-bitty freshman here at ASU, I lived in Hassayampa. My best friend was my roommate, and our suitemates — how should I put this — were fans of Bob Marley.
Translation: They smoked pot more often than I slept.
I frequently woke up for my 9 a.m. class to the smell of skunks wrestling in a pile of thin mints, a classic start to a classic day.
It wasn’t rare that we kept our bedroom door open in order to provide at least a sense of lively energy to our quiet floor, and it was on one particular night that this friendliness got us into trouble with the po-po.
Evidently, a Community Assistant walked by our room when we were talking to the girls who lived across the hallway from us. At that point we were unconsciously oblivious to the incessant smell of marijuana, which, as I know now, must have blasted the CA in the face with immense potency.
We did not realize our rights of refusal when a team of police officers at the door confronted us. Rather, we allowed them to search our room at their strong recommendation considering the suspicious scent throughout the air.
At the end of the night, we were written up by the CA and given instructions by the police that we’d need to speak with University Housing about the possibility of being charged with possession of an illegal substance and intent to sell. Suffice it to say a stressful week followed.
We never got charged for possession or intent because of the blatant fact that the police officers found nothing in our rooms. But my mind travels back to that night from time to time.
It was our fault for not knowing that the police officers needed a search warrant, and it was the fault of the police officers for doing their jobs with such aggression.
The question that arose from this event: Why were they constantly smoking pot in a room with no windows? Well, for the same reason students drink alcohol in their rooms. Students rarely smoke cigarettes in their rooms because they can go outside and enjoy the smoke filling their lungs without fear of being arrested for harming nobody.
This is much less formal than my usual column, but I needed to share it in this way. As a plea from a student who doesn’t do drugs or drink alcohol, petition for the legalization of all drugs. Petition for the removal of the drinking age.
Let kids open up their doors and begin to trust authority again. It’s the only thing to do if ASU is truly intent on building community.
Reach Brian at brian.p.anderson@asu.edu
