Concerns over drugs, safety, health
Harvard officials responsible for campus order and discipline are visiting every House this semester to reinforce the University’s policies on drug use and to explain how the Administrative Board of Harvard College and the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) respond to violations of the policy. John “Jay” Ellison, the secretary of the Administrative Board, is leading the sessions for resident deans and House tutors, with the help of two HUPD detectives. Since the College’s first concern is for students’ health and safety, counseling and medical help are the default responses to first offenses for casual substance abuse and under-age drinking. HUPD echoes this approach. “We are not here to go around and fill up the police wagon with students,” said Brian Spellman, who has been a detective for seven of his 12 years on the force. “We’re here to educate.” “Our job is to protect these students,” added 12-year HUPD veteran Kevin P. Healy,...