App on a BI list

[Gonzo]

...for drug and booze arrests.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-coll ... sts-2014-1

Per capita nationally App is 11 for drugs and 28 for alcohol.

Seems bad on its face. To me it speaks more to the clash between small town and college town, the socially conservative legislative policies, and over policing than it does to App students actually having more of a propensity to do drugs and drink underage.

I've been out of undergrad for a few years, but I had my share of fun in Boone and other college towns. Boone was among the most policed in my experience. ALE seems to love to crack down on App tailgates and bars. I rarely saw them on my many trips to Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Athens, Columbia, and Greenville. I always attributed it to the concise nature of the App campus and Boone nightlife. You can commit a low number of officers to a small area and garner twice the tickets/profits. I'm not sure if the town requests their presence, but I wouldn't be surprised. The last two years have made no secret of how the town leadership feels about the college culture.

Not the best thing to be known for. But again I truly believe that heavy enforcement in the Boone area is the reason we made the lists, not because our students are irresponsible.

[CVAPP]

I don't often, but I have to agree with you on your assessment of what's behind these numbers. The Boone PD and ALE were out of hand back in the eighties and I am not the least bit surprised that has not changed in all the years since.

[Gonzo]

Another thought: Heavy enforcement is also a reason that an App athlete potentially has a higher chance of getting busted for something than a similarly situated player at another school who engages in the same behavior.

Not making excuses for Sean Price or others, but if he played for ECU, the cops would be more concerned with stopping all the shootings and robberies that happen on a daily basis in Greenville than citing some 18-year-old for pot or being drunk at a bar.

Not to start a political tangent, but it's something to consider every time we lose a player who got into trouble.

[AppGrad1]

Wonder if the media will run with this?

[moehler]

got also remember that the actions of law enforcement in Boone is strongly driven by politics. Its no secret to anyone that the older population, who have a great deal of influence on policy, hate, and Im not sure that's a strong enough word, the school. I don't think there is any doubt they put pressure on law enforcement to come down hard on the student population, probably much harder than your typical collage town.

[appbanker]

I think the key to this article is that it is on a per capita basis. During my time in Boone there was an article that listed the stretch of 321 between Blowing Rock and Boone as having the highest per capita DUI arrests in the country. This was before beer in Boone and all the cops would do is look for a student parking sticker and they had a pretty good chance of getting an arrest.

[CVAPP]

So, you agree with Gonzo too?

[Gonzo]

Honestly it's satisfying to see these stats. It validates what I've been saying since I started at Appalachian in 2007: Boone is the most over policed town in North Carolina. It is really unfortunate to see promising young people's records tarnished (and have the schools name tarnished in articles like this) because of a local old fart groupthink and an over staffed, over funded, overzealous local police force coupled with agencies like ALE that come to town simply to get more bang for their buck.

[BUTCH1991]

Hey guys, novel thought here, but instead of worrying about over policing, why don't you follow the law? If you don't want your record tarnished, don't do anything to tarnish it. Take a little responsibility for your own actions.

[AppGrad1]

Instead of being embarrassed folks are blaming the PD for arresting people doing drugs...
Is ASU the only small town college in America?

[Gonzo]

Hey guys, novel thought here, but instead of worrying about over policing, why don't you follow the law? If you don't want your record tarnished, don't do anything to tarnish it. Take a little responsibility for your own actions.

The point is that most 18 to 22-year-olds experiment with drugs and alcohol in Boone and across the country and these stats indicate that enforcement is much higher in Boone than in most towns.

I'm sure we're all familiar with the purpose of statutory law. It encourages and discourages behavior in consideration of public policy. I mean we're talking about the drinking age and prohibition of drugs (Aside-- I guarantee you App wouldn't be on the list of drug arrests if Marijuana wasn't included on the list of drugs) so nothing is getting repealed. But at what point does the enforcement of such laws become discriminatory?

[CVAPP]

Hey guys, novel thought here, but instead of worrying about over policing, why don't you follow the law? If you don't want your record tarnished, don't do anything to tarnish it. Take a little responsibility for your own actions.

I for one am not a law breaker. But you may be as simple-minded as you please.

[Gonzo]

Instead of being embarrassed folks are blaming the PD for arresting people doing drugs...
Is ASU the only small town college in America?

Apparently it is one of the only small towns in America with such a hard-on for arresting young people for drugs and alcohol. That much is apparent.

There are only two explanations for our presence on these lists:
1. App State students, per capita, really do indulge in illegal drug and alcohol use at a rate that is among the highest in the country for Universities.
2. The police agencies charged with drug and alcohol enforcement in the Boone area have placed a much higher emphasis on enforcing drug and alcohol laws in Boone, and their enforcement of such laws is among the highest on the country.

Come on, y'all. We all went to the same school. I'm sure you all visited friends that went elsewhere. Which do you think is a more likely explanation?

[EastHallApp]

Well I don't know about the university as a whole, but I know my old dorm was supposedly once ranked as the #2 dorm for drugs in America by High Times magazine. So maybe it's not ALL the police's fault.

[AppGrad1]

Instead of being embarrassed folks are blaming the PD for arresting people doing drugs...
Is ASU the only small town college in America?

Apparently it is one of the only small towns in America with such a hard-on for arresting young people for drugs and alcohol. That much is apparent.

There are only two explanations for our presence on these lists:
1. App State students, per capita, really do indulge in illegal drug and alcohol use at a rate that is among the highest in the country for Universities.
2. The police agencies charged with drug and alcohol enforcement in the Boone area have placed a much higher emphasis on enforcing drug and alcohol laws in Boone, and their enforcement of such laws is among the highest on the country.

Come on, y'all. We all went to the same school. I'm sure you all visited friends that went elsewhere. Which do you think is a more likely explanation?

I don't have an answer.
I just find it hard to believe that the Boone PD is looking at arresting drug users more than any other small college in the USA. Maybe so.

[Gonzo]

There's likely a combination of those two explanations to account for the high rates of arrests, but I genuinely believe that such an exaggerated result like #11 and 28 in the whole United State is only possible when there is a concerted effort to target students for such crimes. Just like the noise ordinance and the student housing moratorium, the sheer manpower and emphasis they clearly put on these two very specific and relatively victimless crimes is discriminatory.

And I'm not "condoning" law-breaking, drug use or underage drinking, but I'm realistic about the dynamic of the modern college culture. Our last three presidents did drugs when they were young. People do it -- smart, promising young people do it. The only thing that's come from the town's efforts are sullied records and bad press from Business Insider.

[BUTCH1991]

Keep it in private to help avoid detection if you must do it, but when you take it in public, you're asking for trouble. The rest are excuses.

[goapps93]

Another thought: Heavy enforcement is also a reason that an App athlete potentially has a higher chance of getting busted for something than a similarly situated player at another school who engages in the same behavior.

Not making excuses for Sean Price or others, but if he played for ECU, the cops would be more concerned with stopping all the shootings and robberies that happen on a daily basis in Greenville than citing some 18-year-old for pot or being drunk at a bar.

Not to start a political tangent, but it's something to consider every time we lose a player who got into trouble.

Do a little research and you'll find that Ruffin has lost several players to drugs/arrests and had plenty show up on the blotter in Greenville. I don't think Boone is as much different that other smallish college towns as you think. I think it has more to do with us paying more attention to what goes on in Boone because that is what we care about more than other towns. I live in Eastern NC and follow Greenville news outlets. ECU students get arrested for the same things ASU students get arrested for. Just to continue with the ECU comparison Boone and Greenville are VERY different demographically in both student and non-student populations. There is so much more to this than just a perceived vendetta against college students by local government.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Another thought: Heavy enforcement is also a reason that an App athlete potentially has a higher chance of getting busted for something than a similarly situated player at another school who engages in the same behavior.

Not making excuses for Sean Price or others, but if he played for ECU, the cops would be more concerned with stopping all the shootings and robberies that happen on a daily basis in Greenville than citing some 18-year-old for pot or being drunk at a bar.

Not to start a political tangent, but it's something to consider every time we lose a player who got into trouble.

Do a little research and you'll find that Ruffin has lost several players to drugs/arrests and had plenty show up on the blotter in Greenville. I don't think Boone is as much different that other smallish college towns as you think. I think it has more to do with us paying more attention to what goes on in Boone because that is what we care about more than other towns. I live in Eastern NC and follow Greenville news outlets. ECU students get arrested for the same things ASU students get arrested for. Just to continue with the ECU comparison Boone and Greenville are VERY different demographically in both student and non-student populations. There is so much more to this than just a perceived vendetta against college students by local government.

Speaking of Sean Price. Did he drop out of school as soon as he was off the team or did he finish the semester.

[EastHallApp]

Another thought: Heavy enforcement is also a reason that an App athlete potentially has a higher chance of getting busted for something than a similarly situated player at another school who engages in the same behavior.

Not making excuses for Sean Price or others, but if he played for ECU, the cops would be more concerned with stopping all the shootings and robberies that happen on a daily basis in Greenville than citing some 18-year-old for pot or being drunk at a bar.

Not to start a political tangent, but it's something to consider every time we lose a player who got into trouble.

Do a little research and you'll find that Ruffin has lost several players to drugs/arrests and had plenty show up on the blotter in Greenville. I don't think Boone is as much different that other smallish college towns as you think. I think it has more to do with us paying more attention to what goes on in Boone because that is what we care about more than other towns. I live in Eastern NC and follow Greenville news outlets. ECU students get arrested for the same things ASU students get arrested for. Just to continue with the ECU comparison Boone and Greenville are VERY different demographically in both student and non-student populations. There is so much more to this than just a perceived vendetta against college students by local government.

You're also talking about the two schools that, at least in public perception, are probably the biggest boozing school and biggest stoner school in the state.