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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,529
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 Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA]
#8879619 - 09/04/08 09:47 PM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession
September 4, 2008 - seattlepi.com
A 16-year-old Running Start student is suing Seattle Central Community College claiming she was kicked out of school after being coerced into signing a statement related to marijuana possession.
The student is asking her suspension be reversed, alleging the statement she signed was false -- and that the college's campus security officers acted inappropriately by forcing her admission of guilt.
The lawsuit, filed late last month on behalf of Whitney Williams and her mother, states that Seattle Central security officers smelled marijuana near Williams and two friends a block and a half from the Capitol Hill campus last April. The officers asked the students to come to the security office, where they found a bag of marijuana in Williams' book bag.
The security officers denied Williams the chance make a phone call, instead insisting that she draft a confessional statement, the lawsuit alleges.
"At this point, Whitney was crying and begging these men to allow her to speak with her mother by phone before she drafted any statement," court documents state.
After she wrote the statement, an officer said she couldn't call her mother until she added text, which he dictated, according to the lawsuit.
Court documents do not indicate what was included in the statement.
Williams, a Bainbridge Island resident, attended Seattle Central as a Running Start student, meaning she received both high school and college credit for classes.
According to documents, the statement led to her being effectively expelled until after her high school graduation. Williams attended a disciplinary hearing, where she asked for lenience.
"During her hearing, she pleaded with the hearing panel not to diminish her pursuit of higher educational options," court documents say. "As Whitney put it, 'Education is my thing.' "
In a letter from Seattle Central President Mildred Ollee, Williams was informed she would not be welcome back at the school this fall.
The letter is quoted: "The final decision is you are suspended from enrollment at Seattle Central Community College until such time that you graduate from high school or obtain a GED."
A spokeswoman for Seattle Central declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but confirmed that college officials were aware of the court filing.
A phone call to the Williams home was not immediately returned Thursday.
Seattle Central's student code of conduct requires that students refrain drug and alcohol use.Williams was stopped more than a block from Seattle Central's urban campus. Around the nation, a growing number of colleges and universities are starting to take a more proactive approach to monitoring off-campus behavior. Neighbors say the efforts are working.
The UW now enforces its campus behavior code off campus as well.
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 Coaster
Psychosomatic Psychonaught
 
Registered: 05/22/06
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Loc: La La Land
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: veggie]
#8879808 - 09/04/08 10:22 PM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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we dont care that u want to educate urself we want to block ur pursuit of education because you smoke weed
wut fags
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mr_minds_eye
Tanssexual Mormon
Registered: 01/22/02
Posts: 1,816
Loc: Samsara
Last seen: 1 month, 16 days
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: veggie]
#8880076 - 09/04/08 11:23 PM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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But what about the children? We all know that that evil gateway drug marijuna holds people back.
Wait, this is a kid and its social policies that are holding her back.... Maybe this is counter productive. No it couldn't be. If we let her excell then it will be seen as condoning her behavior. Maybe we need harsher penalties and THEN this will all work out! 
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Our quest for discovery fuels our creativity in all fields, not just science. If we reached the end of the line, the human spirit would shrivel and die. But I don't think we will ever stand still: we shall increase in complexity, if not in depth, and shall always be the center on an expanding horizon of possibilities.
-Stephen Hawking
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tyler_0_durden
AspiringMycologist
Registered: 10/28/07
Posts: 816
Loc: The PNW
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: Coaster]
#8880085 - 09/04/08 11:26 PM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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Wow. Some colleges are strange...
Were they implying that she retake high school? For smoking weed? They should do that for cigarettes as well.
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IdeLOLogies
Stranger
Registered: 03/26/08
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: tyler_0_durden]
#8880392 - 09/05/08 01:01 AM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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Hmm, she must have some how faked her grades....
Isn't that obvious?
There's absolutely no way someone who smokes Marijuana can enjoy learning and benefit the society in anyway.
Unlike those faithful students that spend all their time drinking!
Good Job Seattle Central, your "saving" America....
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[quote]Gumby said:
Read the subject out loud.
Big Andy wrecked sounds like you're saying "big and erect."
There has to be a term for this, but I don't know what it is. Do you know any other phrases like that?
My dixie wrecked and it's sofa king cool. [/quote]
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PsilocybinMike
Psychedelic Journeyman
Registered: 02/18/08
Posts: 664
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: IdeLOLogies]
#8881942 - 09/05/08 11:44 AM (2 months, 28 days ago) |
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Quote:
IdeLOLogies said:
Hmm, she must have some how faked her grades....
Isn't that obvious?
There's absolutely no way someone who smokes Marijuana can enjoy learning and benefit the society in anyway.
Unlike those faithful students that spend all their time drinking!
Good Job Seattle Central, your "saving" America....
so pathetic..
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Raoul Duke: With a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. Always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.
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ExplosiveMango
HallucinogenusDigitallus
Registered: 07/12/05
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: IdeLOLogies]
#8881999 - 09/05/08 11:57 AM (2 months, 28 days ago) |
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She is taking drugs, she must not want to know any better.
Make sure she doesn't learn.
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Know your self.
Know your substance.
Know your source.
Stop knowing what you are and realize what you could be.
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TheAxis
Run like a cantalope
Registered: 08/20/08
Posts: 682
Loc: New Jersey
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: ExplosiveMango]
#8882359 - 09/05/08 01:15 PM (2 months, 28 days ago) |
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If the constitution still holds some ground then this case will be overturned since she was refused a call, and she was not 18 yet. And they forced her to sign the statement. Fucking cops ruining this poor girl's life
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When you make your piece with authority, you become authority
Jim Morrison
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SkekTek
Lurker
Registered: 03/21/08
Posts: 287
Loc: South Florida
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: TheAxis]
#8884231 - 09/05/08 08:51 PM (2 months, 28 days ago) |
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Quote:
Around the nation, a growing number of colleges and universities are starting to take a more proactive approach to monitoring off-campus behavior.
Did any one else think that this sounds like it might be a tad bit invasive? Even a little scary. Has anyone ever thought
that cell phones are used against us as monitoring devices. They come with cameras, microphones, gps...
It's like we all volunteer to carry our own personal surveillance device. How much more convenient can it get?
Electronic Leashes.
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Madtowntripper
Sun-Beams out of Cucumbers
Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 13,991
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: SkekTek]
#8884548 - 09/05/08 10:23 PM (2 months, 28 days ago) |
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So carry an old cell phone?
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: veggie]
#8891104 - 09/07/08 02:06 PM (2 months, 26 days ago) |
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I am not sure exactly what she is complaining about. She confessed and they found pot in her bag.
I doubt they "forced" her to confess. They probably forcefully asked her to confess which is not the same thing at all.
I do think she is entitled to a call but I am not sure what she can do about it that they didn't give it to her. Maybe that alone is enough to nullify the confession and suppress the evidence but I kind of doubt it.
First, she should not have followed the security officers back to the school, since they were a block and a half away she should have refused their kind offer to escort her back to school and instead made them perform a citizens arrest if they wanted to detain her.
Also she should not have consented to any search of her bag and should not have written any kind of confession. A simple "I would like to talk to a lawyer before I say or write anything" would have helped a lot.
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Madtowntripper
Sun-Beams out of Cucumbers
Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 13,991
Last seen: 2 hours, 45 minutes
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#8891278 - 09/07/08 02:56 PM (2 months, 26 days ago) |
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All of that would be relevant if she was an adult.
I'm pretty sure you can't coerce confessions from minors without some kind of parental involvement.
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SkekTek
Lurker
Registered: 03/21/08
Posts: 287
Loc: South Florida
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Re: Student sues Seattle Central over marijuana confession [WA] [Re: Madtowntripper]
#8892663 - 09/07/08 07:20 PM (2 months, 26 days ago) |
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Sorry for that cell phone rant last night, I was bakes and having paranoid thoughts about the government.
I agree though, you can't do that type of thing without a minor's parent being present. It wouldn't hold up in court for that reason if she fought it.
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