Students penalised for drugs by uni proctor at 5year high
DESPITE an apparent rise in disciplinary action being taken against students found in possession of drugs at the University of Otago, the proctor says the university is not clamping down on drug users.
Disciplinary reports given to the Otago Daily Times earlier this month showed students disciplined by the proctor for drug possession since 2012 reached a fiveyear high last year, when 26 people were penalised.
The figure was twice the number of students recorded as being disciplined for drug possession in 2016.
Nineteen of the offences were specifically for cannabis and the other seven were for drugs not specified.
However, University of Otago proctor Dave Scott said the trend was not part of a ‘‘crackdown’’ on the part of the university.
Hardly any complaints originated from the proctor’s office or Campus
Watch, and most matters were referred to him either by residential colleges, university flats, or the police.
So far this year, the proctor said he was dealing with 10 ‘‘drug files’’ involving 23 students.
Five files were from residential colleges.
Usually the hall of residence concerned imposed an internal outcome, so often he only noted the result, Mr Scott said.
He had also given out welfare and educational advice to students he was dealing with this year.
‘‘Of the remaining incidents, four were police referrals to the proctor’s office.’’
In one incident a fine was imposed, and in the other three instances students received a warning and advice.
Police regularly referred students to the proctor’s office as an alternative resolution of some matters, including drug offending, to keep the student out of court.
The information comes after Mr Scott made headlines when he admitted unlawfully going into a student flat and confiscating cannabis bongs.
Otago University Students’ Association student support manager Sage Burke said, anecdotally, he had seen a rise in students getting caught with drugs, both cannabis and other drugs.
‘‘I’m not sure what the reason for that is.’’
Mr Scott said the proctor’s office did not as a rule report incidents to the police.
However, that was always an option available to them in some circumstances.
An NZ Drug Foundation spokesman said uptodate national drug use figures were not available.