Newspaper Page Text
October 11, 1999
Volume 46
Number 6
Index
News 1-2
Opinions 3
A&E ; 4
Sports 5
Etc 6&7
Classifieds 8
News Briefs
Friday Oct., 15 SGA is
having a pep rally for
Saturday’s homecom
ing at noon in front of
the Student Center.
Sports Briefs
Let’s hope the UWG
Braves football team
take their winning
streak to North Ala
bama this weekend.
Editorial
Briefs
Look on Opinions
page 3 for more
Greek discourse.
Quote of the
Week
“Don’t let your stud
ies interfere with your
education.”
...Henry Rutgers
Contact us:
Office Hours:
M: 10-12:30 & 3-7
TANARUS: 10-5
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TH: 10-5
Editorial line:B36-6527
Ad. line: 836-6794
E-mail:
uwgpaper@ westga. edu
Visit our web site:
www.westga.edu/~uwgpapei
THE
Mail-order marijuana
Illegal connections on The web
The package was delivered in a
brown paper bag from the U.S. Postal
Service. The parcel contained two
different types of high-grade mari
juana weighing a quarter ounce.
There was nothing fancy about the
package. The marijuana was placed
inside small plastic zipper bags and
concealed inside a padded envelope.
It was delivered to downtown
Orlando after being ordered off the
Internet. The Web site is from
Amsterdam and has the appearance
of a Dutch coffee shop menu. A cus
tomer can take his pick from two
types of pot and five varieties of hash.
Pictures are supplied on the menu,
along with an order form specifying
how many grams the buyer wants.
The purchaser then receives an email
with an address as to where to send
cash. There is always the danger that
the currency will be lost in the mail
system. This time, however, it paid
off. The twenty -something UCF stu
dents obtained an abundance of weed
for $93, including delivery.
Marijuana is the most commonly
found illegal drug in the U.S. Mail
system.
Financial aid
denied to
drug users
Drug offenders, watch out. The U.S.
Department of Education proposed anew
rule on July 16 that will affect drug of
fenders. Hie new law would require fi
nancial aid applicants to self-certify
whether or not they have ever been con
victed of a drug offense.
The rule of denying federal financial
aid to drug offenders was approved last
year and added to the Higher Education
Act of 1965.
With the addition of this new provi
sion, it will be up to contractors who pro
cess the financial aid applications to de
cide whether or not applicants should re
ceive aid.
There are rules to this provision on how
long you can be denied financial aid.
Under this new proposal, a student may
lose financial aid up to one year for a first
offense, two years for a second offense,
and indefinitely for a third offense. How
ever, a student caught selling drugs is dif
ferent. For their first offense, they will
lose financial aid for two years and in
definitely for a second.
If the convicted student completes re
habilitation before his/her term is over,
they may go ahead and have financial aid
restored. If the conviction was reversed
or set aside, aid can also be restored.
This new provision will not become
effective until July 1, 2000. Since 70%
of Tarleton students are on financial aid,
they may need to keep their ear to the
ground.
“Professionally, Tarleton will follow
the rules stipulated by the federal govern
ment as we always have,” said Skip
Landis, director of financial aid. “This
new law will probably receive vigorous
discussion until it passes into law.”
Since its proposal, Senators have heavily
debated the bill.
Senator Barney Frank of Massachu
setts has proposed to repeal the entire pro
vision against drug offenders introduced
last year. Students across twelve differ
ent college campuses have endorsed a
resolution to overturn the provision.
The primary sponsor of this bill has
been representative Mark Soudcr of In
diana. If the law is passed, students will
find out around February I.
The only big flaw in the rule is that
students could still lie on tlicir applica
tions to try to receive financial aid. Sena
tors have agreed to do what they can about
this problem, with a background check
being one of the solutions.
The Official Student Newspaper of the State University of West Georgia
WEST GECf&fYI
Only believe it if you read it here; otherwise, believe with caution.
LaSt year, 11,000 pounds of the
drug were seized in mail shipments
from California to the East Coast, as
well as more than 650 arrests for
marijuana-related crimes via the U.S.
Postal Service.
Yes, purchasing pot over the
Internet is illegal; however, it is not
easy for police departments to en
force marijuana prohibition. After
all, sellers usually live in countries
such as the Netherlands, which do no
have harsh drug laws.
“If you’re talking about the
Internet,” said Sgt. Tom Gorbas of
UCF’s Crime Prevention Unit,
“you’re talking about a big world of
problems”
Marijuana has been an illegal
drug in the United States since 1914.
However, more than 40 million
Americans are occasional users of
pot. Not only that, many are easing
suffering from aches in the stomach
or the head, cancer, AIDS, Multiple
Sclerosis and other ailments, even
athlete’s foot. Users claim marijuana
has tremendous medical value.
For years, the Internet has been
making U.S. Border laws increas-
Full Scholarship
awarded by CB&T
to UWG sophomore
State University of West Georgia
sophomore and Presidential Scholar,
Mary Kate Mcßrayer of Carrollton,
recently attended an officer’s meet
ing at Citizen’s Bank & Trust
(CB&T) to share her achievements
at West Georgia and express her
gratitude for the four-year scholar
ship provided by the bank.
Asa Presidential Scholar,
Mcßrayer ranks in the top two per
cent of West Georgia’s 8,650 students
and she participates in advanced pro
gram opportunities tailored to her
academic abilities.
Attending the presentation were
Erika McClain, West Georgia Foun
dation; Jim Gill, president/CEO of
CB&T of West Georgia; Mcßrayer;
and Paul Smith, UWG Special Pro
grams.
For more information on giving
opportunities at West Georgia, con
tact McClain at the Office of Devel
opment and Alumni Services at 770-
836-6582.
Study found relationship
between alcohol and
gun ownership
College students with serious prob
lems linked to alcohol are more likely to
own a handgun at school than those'
whose drinking habits are under control,
according to a study recently released by
the Harvard University School of Public
Health. The study, based on a survey of
more than 150,000 students from 130
four-year institutions nationwide, found
that 3.5 percent of students have a gun at
school.
That figure rose to 6.8 percent among
students who reported drinking heavily,
driving while impaired, damaging prop
erty while intoxicated, or injuring them
selves in alcohol- related fights or acci
dents.
Researchers called the connection be
tween gun possession and alcohol abuse
troublesome and also noted that the asso
ciation remained constant after fagfors
such as gender, race, residential region,
and membership in a Greek organization
were taken into consideration.
The Harvard study concluded that the
profile of an average college-age gun
owner looks a lot like that of the average
American gun owner: white men living
in the South or West. Only 1.5 percent of
women reported owning a gun in college,
while 6.4 percent of men did. Research
ers also found that white students were
more likely to have a gun on campus than
Asian-Amcrican or African-American
students.
ingly powerless. The marijuana trade
is thriving not only for recreational
users who can make a convenient
buy, but also for medical users in
places without a local dispensary.
With just a click, a person may
regularly find marijuana deals online.
Buyers tend to feel safe making their
purchases in just minutes over the
Computer.
Because of this, the Internet is as
sisting in forcing a reconsideration of
domestic marijuana policy. The
power of the net will be evident in
future drug laws, according to one
UCF employee.
“Sales over the Internet could pos
sibly lead to the decriminalization of
marijuana because there is no real
way to enforce law differences of
countries that are blurring and melt
ing together,” said Sharon Winters, a
UCF computer science adjunct pro
fessor.
The sale of marijuana online is one
of several businesses on the Internet
that is making national laws harder
to enforce. Although these are well
documented, the government has al
ready been having a tough time with
?. pili
\ ■ I
Student continues lawsuit against UGA
despite reversal of application rejection
A first- year college student has filed
suit aganist the University of Georgia, al
leging that the school’s affirmative action
policies are unconstitutional and that it
rejected her application because she is
white and female. Though the university
reversed its decision, recently adding Jen
nifer L. Johnson to its incoming freshman
class, Johnson opted to attend her second
choice, Mercer University in Macon, G A
Her attorney, Lee Parks, said she vows
to press the suit recently filed in federal
court aganist the University of Geoigia.
Johnson’s case isn’t the first Parks has
tackled challenging UGA’s admissions
Gunfire Erupts at
The Mansion —=
<risting Garner
Managing Editor
At approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday
noming, UWG students living in area
ipartments awoke to the sound of gun
fire.
The shots were the result of an “altcr
;ation” that took place in the parking lot
af the Maple Street Mansion, a local rcs
aurunt that is frequented by UWG stu-
Jcnts.
According to Captain Brad Robinson
af the Carrollton Police Department, one
af the individuals involved in the alterea
ion went to a vehicle parked nearby and
amoved a handgun. The individual then
aegan firing shots randomly towards (Ik
restaurant.
the wide distribution of prescription
drugs sold online. Internet doctors
have been willing to write virtual pre
scriptions for drug buyers after they
complete a brief questionnaire.
Gambling is another activity that
thrives online. A United States con
gressional commission recently rec
ommended a ban on all Internet gam
bling. However, the proposal failed
because they could not come up with
reasonable ways to enforce the laws.
Authorities are having the same
types of problems with the Internet
drug market. Drug Web sites in
Amsterdam have been shut down in
the past, mostly from foreign govern
ments putting pressure on Dutch po
lice.
Buyers in the United States are
subject to our drug .laws. However,
recipients of the packages do not nec
essarily face stiffer penalties than a
possession charge, despite the of
fense being a federal crime.
“You have to be careful because
one doesn’t know who he is talking
to online,” Gorbas said. “You may
think you know, but you might be
chatting with the cods.”
policies. A federal court judge recently
ruled aganist another student represented
by Parks who also claimed the university's
admissions policies were racially dis
criminatory.
U.S. District Judge, B. Avant Edenficld
.ruled in July that the student wasn’t aca
demically qualified to attend the univer
sity, but even as he dismissed the case, he
chastised the university for favoring mi
nority students in its enrollment process.
Officials at the University of Georgia
said Johnson no longer has a case becuase
she is free to enroll. They are also quick
to note that the university is reviewing its
admissions process in light of Judge
Three individuals were injured in the
gunfire, all suffering gunshot wounds
to the legs. Two of those in jured were
UWG students. The victims were taken
to Tanner Medical Center. The two stu
dents were treated and released, while
the third victim was admitted with an
ankle wound.
The Carrollton Police Department
lias posted the following lookout tor two
suspects and a vehicle:
Suspect #1 is a black male,
5’l0"to6’0", 150 to 170 lbs., slim build,
light complexion, wears a small goatee,
late teens to early twenties. He was
wearing a brown/burgundy and orange
Clevlend Browns jersey with Tim
Couch und #2 printed on it. He was
Officials from both the Drug En
forcement Agency (DEA) and the
Postal Inspection Service, which
governs the mail, claim they know
nothing about drug sales over the
Internet. This proves just how a
dealer can avoid being noticed. But
even if the DEA caught the dealer,
they have no jurisdiction outside of
the United States.
If U.S. Customs fails to seize the
packages, then the postal inspectors
might. Inspectors will take the goods
and may not prosecute the buyer. It
depends on the judge and jurisdic
tion. Sometimes the DEA will pros
ecute if the U.S. Attorney’s Office
decides not to. The DEA will press
charges depending on the quantity of
the package and the receiver’s crimi
nal record.
The Postal Inspection Service .will
rarely prosecute minor buyers fully
under the law. The agency is prima
rily concerned with catching drug
dealers sending big packages to each
other. Not only do they have no ju
risdiction for Web sites in
Continued on page 2
Edenfield’s criticism.
UGA officals said students are admit
ted largely depending on their grades and
test scores. For those students who are
borderline, other factors, including race,
gender, and whether the applicant is a
child of an alumnus or alumna are con
sidered. All of those factors make up a
number that school officals refer to as the
Total Student Index.
Parks could not be readied for com
ment, but lie told the Associated Press that
the minimum index needed to get into
UGA this year was 4.66. He said Johnson
received a 4.1 on the index, but would
have received an additional .5 points if
she had been a minority group member
and another.2s points if she had been
male.
"Those extra scores would have given
her a total index of 4.85 above this
year’s minimum index requirement,”
Parks said.
wearing black pants and cap, and is he
lieved to have been armed with a .45 cali
ber pistol. This is the suspected shooter.
Suspect #2 is a black male
wearing black jeans and a blue pullover
type shirt. He is described as having a
dark complexion.
Tlie vehicle is a ‘9B or ‘99 Jeep
Cherokee with grayish-black bumpers.
'Hie side and re;ir windows arc tinted, tlie
rear more heavily tlian tlie siilcs. The body
style is new. anil tlie wheels are factory
originals.
It you have seen this vehicle or have
any information about tins crime, please
contact Sgt. Adams at 770-834-4451