SMU Drug Task Force Report

This morning the SMU Drug Task Force report, currently under review by the President, was leaked to the public. The report had the following recommendations for the campus:

1. An on-campus bar/pub

2. Allowing fraternities to host parties in their own houses provided that they hire SMU Police and professional bartenders.

3. Medical amnesty

Now, before I continue, I must clarify that I expected the outcome of this investigation to have quite the opposite result. SMU has programs in place that encourage individuals to find out about on-campus drinking and to report it to the Police. I believed this to be a significant precursor to a negative Drug Task Force report. I was proven wrong.

SMU's policy on alcohol and parties has become unbelievably strict in recent months. Even the Daily Campus, a supposedly separate body from the University, prints distinctly biased articles. If you haven't noticed it, look up the Parent's Weekend issue of the Daily Campus (SMUDailyCampus.com). The front cover displayed a bar graph of the number of alcohol violations in each fraternity. The articles in that particular paper centered entirely around the Greek community -- including references to a sex-offender that had once been enrolled at SMU (he is now in his 30's). This is a blatant, and undeniable dig at the Greek community -- particularly as it was printed on Parent's Weekend, at the height of Rush. Such behavior by the University and The Daily Campus is, in my opinion, disgraceful.

The Drug Task Force recommendations provide a refreshing dose of logic, something that SMU and its Police Force have been sincerely lacking. I hope President Turner considers these recommendations with care and maturity. It would be great to have some sort of departure from this Police State that those of us in the Greek community live under.