Security stumbles on South pot plants

Spring is in the air, and many plants are a'blooming.

Some residents of South Hall had their horticultural habits put on hiatus, however, when five marijuana plants and various paraphernalia were confiscated from their room over Spring Break.

The plants were seized after a series of events beginning at around 11:30 p.m. on March 25. Residence Coordinator Chris Goodman of South's third floor was checking his hall when he noticed a problem with one of the doors in his hallway. The knob on the outside of the door had been removed or had fallen off, and was lying on the ground near the door.

Upon observing this, Goodman went into his room and phoned security. He reported that there was a damaged knob that needed repairs and also that there was a strange odor emanating from the room. The odor was initially unidentified and carried the potential of being a health or fire hazard, according to Director of Security Keith James, so security headed to the scene to check out the door knob and the odor.

After Goodman reported the incident, he said. "I thought maybe I should watch the door." He said that when he went to do so, he saw three students standing outside the room. When he called out to them, the students fled. Goodman caught up with one of them, and requested his name and ID number, as well as the reason that the students were standing near the room. The student did not have an ID, and the name that he gave did not check out.

Goodman said he then returned to the room, and observed that "the doorknob was missing, and the door was now propped open with a screwdriver." He said he entered the room to see if anything had been disturbed, at which point he noticed that the doors to the closets were missing. One of the doors was covered in aluminum foil, and inside one of the closets were five marijuana plants and a 400-watt bulb, and the closet was lined with foil.

By this time the technicians had responded to the call. Goodman said he inquired from the technicians if Security were still coming, but they arrived shortly after. Security unplugged the lamp, which was a fire hazard, and then called James to the scene.

Upon his arrival, James began questioning the various people present. Goodman relayed the information about the three students seen leaving the scene, but by that time it was approximately 30 minutes after they had left, and they could not be located. The room was secured and the lock was fixed.

The locksmith employed stated that only someone who was inside the room could have removed the outside doorknob, not a person who was trying to break in from the outside. He also stated that the outside knob could have not been taken off unless the door to the room was unlocked.

Security notified Dean of Students Deb McNish and the Oberlin Police Department about the incident. According to James, however, "how this incident will be handled is still being discussed."

There have been many issues raised by students about the handling of the case.

One grievance is that the students felt the room was searched without permission. Room search rules state that individual room searches are permitted only when there are reasons to suspect the existence of contraband or crime. Students are to be notified of an authorized search by mail 24 hours in advance of the search, or by hand-delivered notice served by a member of the dean's staff prior to the search. The students in this case were not notified.

According to James, "In this case, we weren't searching the students' room. When the officers were there they were responding to the doorknob being broken and an odor. The odor was not specified. At that time it was an emergency to respond to those issues. We made sure the lamp was disconnected and the lock was fixed."

Rules and Regulations note that College employees may enter into student rooms at all reasonable hours, as necessary, for the purpose of making repairs or to correct life safety violations.

Security returned the next day to remove the plants. One of the residents of the room was present and, according to James, gave his consent to their removal. The paraphernalia that related to the plants was also removed with his consent, James said.

According to Police Chief Robert Jones, the police department is still awaiting a decision from the College as to whether they will handle it internally or hand it over to the police department. McNish said she hopes to resolve it internally.

Chief Jones stated that if the police department were directed to pursue, it would only amount to a minor misdemeanor. James stated that the plants have been disposed of.