FREE CARL 2015
This morning at 10.23 am (November 18, 2015) New College Police Department released a statement announcing the arrest of a student in Z dorm. The search warrant’s validity was based on an affidavit filed by a student on November 17th regarding drug possession of two Z Residence Hall rooms. The investigation is ongoing and evidence was sent to the Sarasota Country Sherriff’s lab for analysis. The charges against the student as they stand are marijuana possession with intent to distribute, hallucinogen possession with intent to distribute, and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Additional information is expected to be released later today and after the authorities complete their investigation. The NCPD has three days to publish a public police report regarding these developing events. Though we must withhold judgment until the police report is released, this arrest should spark continued dialogue on campus climate and our relationship with the NCPD.
A lot of questions are still up in the air:
Why is going to the police the first resort and not the last? Why do simple things like noise complaints lead to police involvement?
Was the student that filed the affidivat compensated for snitching? Why did they do it? What happened to inter-student communication, why aren’t we making space for dialogue before such drastic action? Unless the student arrested was posing a serious threat to the welfare and safety of other students (in which contacting the police would be justified) why would someone’s personal drug use or possession automatically necessitate contacting the NCPD?
Why doesn’t it feel coincidental that one of the most outspoken students on police transparency, administrative policy, and the questionable past and continued actions of the NCPD was arrested?
The less we trust each other, the less we look out for each other. The less united we are as a student body, the more opportunity for police intervention and the perpetuation of a violent, unfair, and unaccountable system.
We can understand the relationship at New College between students, the administration, and police as a subsystem of the larger political economy and social climate in America. The criminal justice system is corrupt, powerful, and oppressive. We all know it. The criminal justice system is a mechanism of institutional racism, sexism, and classism and that’s barely scratching the surface.
The War on Drugs was a farce. The War on Drugs keeps young people, specifically minorities and people of color, in prison for minor non-violent offenses. The War on Drugs and the Prison Industrial Complex commodifies generations of people, turning them into profits, statistics, and rendering their existence invisible. Fuck the war on drugs.
We are seeing this at New College right now.
We as a student body cannot remain silent. Ask the questions that need asking. Don’t forget the students that have been silenced. Stand in solidarity with and for each other.
Why are we turning on each other? Since when is ruining the lives of other students okay?
What does this say about New College as a community?
Why has there been nothing done about the drastic increase in library theft, yet alleged drug offenses are met with swift crack downs? Why are the NCPD officers amused by rape jokes? (link to article here).
Why was Carl arrested at gunpoint when the man behind the rape posters was given a ride to the coffee loft? Where is the accountability?
How is the use of guns against students even remotely appropriate?
Why doesn’t it feel coincidental that one of the most outspoken students on police transparency, administrative policy, and the questionable past and continued actions of the NCPD was arrested today?
Carl is one of the most proactive, intelligent, dedicated, and passionate members of our community. FREE CARL 2015.
