Drugs at SU prompt searches

 
Southern University Police Department, Student Affairs and Residential Life have joined forces against drugs on campus.
SUPD, Student Affairs and Residential Life established a campaign to create a safer drug free campus.
Shandon Neal, director of Residential Life not only wants the campus to be a safe place for learning and living.
“We must eradicate the solicitation of drugs and controlled substances,” Neal said.
According to Lt. Williams of SUPD and Brandon Dumas, vice chancellor for Student Affairs said, this campaign began on Oct. 11 with the initiation of three delta drug task forces.
The start of the task force searches were joined by a interdiction, (or legal sanction/prohibition) regarding highway drug trafficking activity and campus/dormitory activity.
The task force was composed of law enforcement officers from EBR and surrounding parishes to conduct random checks of residential facilities.
K-9s were in the plans to be utilized, however, due to the lack of communication, the exercise was cancelled.
While on campus, the task force made several random traffic stops. Because of these traffic stops, it resulted in three arrests for various charges. The charges consisted of one count of possession of marijuana, one count of paraphernalia, and one count of an open container.
According to Lieutenant Williams, this operation will ongoing and will be periodical and unannounced.
“Primary reason for this is to discourage drug trafficking or the use of drugs on Southern’s campus,” Williams said.
Even though there is still knowledge about drugs that are being either sold, distributed, or used all around campus regardless of this campaign going on, housing is taking the necessary steps in making sure that they are making it as uncomfortable as possible for those who are participating in these illegal activities around campus.
Dumas said that the main concern of this entire operation is to ensure the safety of the students that live on campus.
“This is a matter that will be taken very seriously and that there will be no tolerance to the usage and distribution of drugs on campus,” Dumas said.
This campaign and the groups involved will take very serious steps and make sure that the students whom live in the dorms as well as the university apartments have an appropriate, yet safe and drug-free campus life.