Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter!

Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Staff Editorial: SA must reach consensus with administration first

This week, Student Association President Lamar Thorpe vetoed a resolution urging administrators to equalize sanctions for alcohol violations and cannabis use. GW officials’ apparent refusal to budge on the rejected legislation is not surprising, as the GW chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which drafted the legislation, never discussed the feasibility of this measure with GW leaders. The SA’s rewrite of this resolution should only come after consultation with the people in power who can enact change.

Certainly, it is easy to understand the rationale behind the effort to normalize alcohol and marijuana policy. The current cannabis rules for GW housing may seem a bit draconian, and NORML presents valid points regarding the potentially more dangerous consequences of alcohol use compared with marijuana consumption. This student group’s inability to consult with any administrators, however, closed the door on any real possibilities for change.

The SA Senate also eroded the failed resolution’s credibility by only subjecting NORML’s measure to three hours of debate and no real scrutiny. The resolution-passing body should have instead tabled the bill until after Senators met with University officials to confirm the realistic potential to bring University officials on board for a major policy change.

Presenting GW’s leadership with a poorly planned mandate only sets the SA and other student groups up for failure. Administrators are unlikely to acquiesce to student demands when they are not consulted about realistic avenues for change. Additionally, the SA approaching the University with this measure would have merely reinforced administrators’ perception that this group is not a body worth dealing with.

Thorpe made a wise decision by vetoing the legislation, aand he has pledged to work with NORML to draft a new version of the legislation. During the rewrite, the students working to change campus drug policy must discuss a realistic avenue for change with administrators who can make things happen. Without prior consultation, any resolution, no matter how well-reasoned, will fail.

By the same token, GW officials must remain open and receptive to discussing this issue, which has recently become a major student concern. Comments by GW officials indicating that the policy will not be revisited because of perceived past success are shortsighted, insofar as they preclude any examination of a policy that could possibly be working better to help students.

It may be easy to dismiss the push for normalization of cannabis rules as the clamoring of a student body looking to ease punishments on drug use; however, administrators should avoid this reaction. The rationale of SA and NORML leaders raises valid points about D.C. laws pertaining to marijuana laws versus alcohol regulations and the health effects of cannabis.

If students involved in this cause make a good-faith effort to reach out to GW’s leaders on the issues, then those in power should make a good-faith effort to hear student concerns and engage in an open dialogue about the issue. At the very least, the drafters of a new, more collaborative resolution deserve a detailed rationale for the current policy, rather than one that relies on past convention.

It appears as if this important student issue has gotten off on the wrong foot, with a vetoed SA resolution and a very cool reaction from administrators. Hopefully, with better execution by student leaders and increased reception from GW officials, our campus can have an honest discussion on marijuana policy.

More to Discover
Donate to The GW Hatchet