Two BVU Students arrested on drug charges inside Grand Hall

Two BVU students were arrested on Monday, Feb. 2 following suspicion of drug activity in the residence hall.

Police conducted an investigation and based on information and evidence collected, three individuals were arrested and charged.

Stacie Lawson and Chris Green, both sophomores at BVU, and Amber Apolito, 18, of Alta were charged with possession of a controlled substance (serious misdemeanor) and possession of drug paraphernalia (simple misdemeanor).

All three individuals were booked into the Buena Vista County Jail and were put on a $1,300.00 cash bond each.

"These residence halls are a community of a lot of people. Lots of times people's actions affect a lot of other people that they do not necessarily realize or think about," Mark Kirkholm, director of Campus Security said.

If a Resident Advisor (RA) has information on a student and finds they have drugs on campus, they contact campus security. From there, campus security has the power to decide whether to handle the issue internally or to involve the police department.

RA's go through a yearly training by the Storm Lake Police Department on controlled substances. This is the same training that the Campus Security staff goes through. "During our fall RA training, we invite a detective from the Storm Lake Police Department in to talk about substance use and abuse and trends in substance abuse in the area," Deb McConahie, director of Residence Life and Housing, said. 

Because many of the students have never dealt with this issue before, the detective also brings in samples of some "more popular" controlled substances and drug paraphernalia for the staff to see.  They also burn a tablet that mirrors the smell of marijuana so that staff are aware of what it smells like if they were to come across something in one of the residence halls. Other than being against the law, involvement with controlled substances is also against BVU policy. The BVU drug policy, as written in the Student Handbook, states "The University considers the use, possession, distribution, sale or manufacture of illicit drugs or drug-related paraphernalia as contrary to the welfare of the university community and strictly prohibits such activities."

BVU Campus Security was alerted of the smell of marijuana coming from a dorm room in Grand Residence Hall and upon arrival, seized a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. They were later turned over to the police department. Campus Security then alerted the Storm Lake Police Department, who arrived around 9:30 p.m.

Any policy infraction that is also against the law can be handled internally through BVU Campus security or can involve the Storm Lake Police Department.

If the issue is handled internally, students accused of any policy misconduct, except sexual abuse or assault, have the option of a Judicial board hearing or an Administrative hearing, according to Kirkholm.

"When to handle thing internally or to involve the police department doesn't really have a black and white answer. Typically, we evaluate the circumstances and all the information and then make a decision on how to handle it," Kirkholm said.

According to Kirkholm, the last time a student was arrested by authorities for drug violations was 2005.  Also in 2005 there were six judicial referrals on campus, and one referral in 2007.

"Controlled substance violations are not common on campus. The police are rarely called in response to violations of this sort and it has been several years since a student has been arrested for controlled substance violations," Kirkholm said.

According to a press release from Feb. 3, the Storm Lake Police Department was assisted in the investigation by the BVU Campus Security Department and the Iowa State Patrol.

"It is what it is. BVU's drug policy prohibits controlled substances and we treat controlled substance issues seriously. It's both against the law and a violation to the BVU policy and we take it very seriously," Kirkholm said.

"We always stress to students that no matter what the situation is that arises, it is important to remember that actions have consequences and that those actions can also have an effect on all of the members of the community.  Respect for the community is something that is brought up and stressed no matter what the policy violation is that occurs," McConahie said.

All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.