Every year the beginning of the fall semester is a busy time for public safety. There are numerous drinking violations, fights, harassing phone calls and drug violations.
So far this semester there have been three drug violations on campus, and up to this point there have been 29 total drug violations in 2002. In 2001 there were a total of 31 drug violations. The 2002-year is only two shy of the previous year and there is over three months to go for this year.
Director of Public Safety, Charles Schaffner said, “It is always busier in the beginning of the year.” He feels that the large amounts of violations are due to mainly the freshmen, some being away from home for the first time in their lives, experimenting with his or her newfound freedom.
Statistics show that the drug use on Cabrini’s campus usually coincides with the consumption of alcohol. The alcohol violations this year are on pace to be about the same as they were in 2001. In 2001 there were 306 drinking violations and as of the start of the fall semester there were 147. There have been many more violations since school started.
Public Saftey does everything in their power to keep the Rador Police from coming to the school to aid in an incident. Only if a student is in a danger that needs off campus assistance is someone called. The most common reason for a student to be taken off of the campus is when a student is found passed out, due to alcohol consumption, the ambulance is immediately called, and the person is transported to the hospital.
According to Schaffner, the problems that exist on Cabrini’s campus are no different than any other colleges. “When young students leave home for the first time they try new things,” Schaffner said.
Schaffner does not condone underage drinking but believes that there is now problem with drinking in moderation. He will not seek out certain people who might be drinking if they are doing it in a responsible manner and are not disturbing anyone in the process.
There is no tolerance for drugs on campus, if they are found, they will be confiscated and Residence Life will issue the sanctions necessary for the offence.
“The students are more mature than they have been in the past,” Schaffner said. Last semester’s Spring Fling comes to his mind often when he thinks of the current behavior of the students. On one of Public Safety’s busiest days of the year there was only one sanction issued.
Schaffner would like to warn all students of identity theft. This is a problem that is prevalent on all college campuses. There have been several identity thefts in the past few years at Cabrini. In order to prevent identity theft students should keep a close watch on all purses and wallets. They should also shred any documents that have their name and Social Security Number. Students should also be wary of identity theft when filling out credit card applications, using phone cards, buying cell phones and signing up for Internet services.
