Lisa Zhu | A tale of two punishments

This weekend, a large proportion of Penn's student body will be celebrating a holiday that has become an essential part of the culture and lifestyle of many Americans. While I do wish a happy Passover to my Jewish peers, the festivity that I speak of has nothing to do with Moses.

Rather, I'm referring to April 20, the one day of the year unofficially dedicated to the iconoclastic consumption of marijuana in the United States. But as certain students at Penn gleefully light up a joint this weekend, the consequences of doing the same for our neighbors a block away remain much more of a buzz kill.

Specifically, the regulations governing marijuana use and possession within many universities serve as a glaring indication of the privilege given to those of a certain socioeconomic status. And the disparity between Penn and Philadelphia's persecution of marijuana users is further indication of intrinsic unfairness in our criminal justice system.

My cursory investigation into how Penn deals with marijuana yielded few results. In other words, the University seems to have a very opaque or informal procedure for dealing with cases of marijuana possession.

"We do get cases of possession of marijuana. I have no clue how many we get, and I have no clue how many go to court," said Office of Student Conduct Director Susan Herron. "There's no set sanction for any particular type of case; it's all very fact sensitive."

And because most marijuana cases involving students are kept confidential, it is difficult to describe the range of punishments meted out by the University. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that the few existing repercussions hardly qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.

For instance, "Last year, I was caught with weed in my room, and I was sent to speak with the House Dean," an unnamed College and Wharton sophomore told me. "They talked to me about getting a drug test, but they never really followed up on it, and nothing ended up happening."

In other words, from my very informal poll of my peers, it would seem that most Penn students smoke up without the fear of being hauled down to 4040 Chestnut Street for a heart-to-heart with Mo-Mo Rush.

"From friends that I've known that have been caught with marijuana in a college dorm, it's basically a slap on the wrist," Engineering and Wharton senior Azim Munivar told me. "There's no real legal action that happens. It's really handled internally within a College House."

In contrast, the consequences of drug possession outside of Penn's campus are much more dire. A Philadelphia Inquirer article from April 1, 2008 stated that out of the entire country, Philadelphia had the highest incarceration rate in its jails. Some of these inmates are arrested simply for possession of marijuana. Unsurprisingly, the demographics of these prisoners show an overwhelming number of them are racial minorities who live below the poverty line.

"Though many universities, especially four-year private institutions, recruit for diversity, they still draw predominantly middle- and upper-class students," said Ware House Dean Nathan Smith, "Most of them offer a certain level of protection from legal repercussions for non-violent crimes."

But that's not to say that Penn should automatically crack down on students caught with marijuana.

There are no easy solutions to the problems of class- and race-based disparity in America's criminal justice system.

The nature of urban crime is far too complex for us to easily differentiate between what's right and wrong, what warrants a prison sentence and what does not.

Suffice it to say, however, that Penn has the right idea in acknowledging that students will be students, that even our most powerful leaders have raised a joint to their lips from time to time (but never inhaled).

It's high time (no pun intended) that Philadelphia learns the same.

Lisa Zhu is a Wharton and College junior from Cherry Hill, N.J., United Minorities Council chairwoman and Undergraduate Assembly member. Her e-mail is zhu@dailypennsylvanian.com. Zhu-ology appears Fridays.

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