Relaxation of Dormitory Drug and Alchohol Policies

Boston University, when compared to most other universities, has one of the the most stringent and heavily enforced university drug and alcohol policies. The mere odor of marijuana in a dormitory room becomes fact of marijuana presence for dormitory officials once two Resident Assistants have smelled it in the room. If even a hint of the odor is present, all those in the room will most likely be removed from housing, and in some cases, given only two weeks to relocate. Students are given hearings but in most situations, student testimonies are not respected. Considering the facts that the Resident Assistants are certainly not an authority on odors and that smells have been known to enter in through the windows or walls, many students are removed every year from housing without given either a second chance or a fair trial. Given the ongoing freshman housing crisis, the BU administration continues to strictly enforce this policy which is unfair to students who, at the very least, deserve a second chance.
With regard to the alcohol policy, the residence halls strictly enforce an alcohol enforcement policy which is clearly a fund raising effort for the University. Every month, Judicial Affairs collects much revenue for the university from student fines for alcohol related violations.
These aforementioned policies create a tense atmosphere in the dormitories which should be relaxed homes and transform the Resident Assistants from helpful friends to a police force to be avoided at all costs. As tuition-paying students, we do not agree to the policies and request the following change:
1. A relaxation of drug and alcohol penalties. Instead of being immediately removed from housing for an intial drug offence, we request a one strike policy for students whereupon their first offense, student would be placed on deferred separation with any other infraction resulting in removal from housing. Furthermore, we request a reduction of residential, substance-related fines to half of their current value.