AHS Views

Nearly 1/2 of U.S. college students abuse alcohol or drugs at least once a month according to a recent survey but I am nevertheless surprised that the president of San Diego State University invited undercover FDA agents onto the campus. Obviously, he made this bold move in an attempt to clean the place up - get rid of drug dealers and , I would hope, make sure students get the addiction help they need.

One of the political science professors, Carole Kennedy, commented “Now it’s drugs,” she said. “Maybe next time it’s about political dissent. . . . What happens when you have students talking about federal income tax policy, saying they’re not going to pay their taxes? Are they going to bring in IRS agents?”

She’s got a point. As of just 10 years ago or so, and it may still be going on, China’s universities were loaded with informants who reported any sign of dissent to the police. Every Friday police made made their rounds of the campus to pick up kids who were reported on, threw them into a black paddy wagon and took them away. The dissenters didn’t have to do much: questioning the ideas disseminated in propaganda class - e.g. is it really true that Westerners charge their elderly parents to come to their home for a meal? - was enough. They had a similar situation in Russia where one in every four people in any room was a government informant. You can see why a political science professor would see SDSU’s move as a move towards the thought police.

Of course, we’re not talking about ‘thoughts’, we’re talking about drugs that could lead to the need for addiction help and, possibly, kill you. As a student not involved in drugs it would be good to know that someone is getting rid of drug dealers, and as a parent it would be good to know that drug dealers are not offering drugs to your college student kid.

But, as a human being, student or otherwise, it would be nice to know that your friend really is your friend and not just pretending to be so they can spy on you.

The intention of the FDA is to catch the big fish - the drug dealers who are encouraging addiction and risking the lives of other students. It could make college campuses much safer, and parents would have far less to worry about when they send their kids off to college. It might also help ensure those who already have drug problems get the addiction help services they need.