Students Cited in Vermont for Alcohol, Drug Possession
Border search gives BU-sponsored ski trip unhappy ending
BU students returning from Canada were cited by Vermont police for alcohol and drug possession. Photo by David Martin
Vermont state police cited three BU students for marijuana possession and a fourth for possession of an ecstasy pill Monday as the students returned via bus from a Quebec ski outing. Cited for underage drinking were 26 other students, some from BU.
The students, traveling in an eight-bus caravan, were on their way back from a trip sponsored by the BU Ski and Board Club that also included students from the University of Massachusetts.
“We hold students accountable for violations, whether on or off campus, and that applies in this case as well,” University spokesman Colin Riley says.
According to a Vermont State Police report, the caravan was stopped on Interstate 91 in Derby Line, Vt., as it attempted to reenter the United States. A search of the buses revealed the alleged alcohol and drug possessions, which led to detention of the caravan for about six hours.
As first reported by the Daily Free Press, Jason Kashdan (COM’14), who was on the trip, says the BU students were on three buses, with a fourth reserved for University alumni. He says border officials searched the BU buses after finding marijuana and alcohol on a UMass bus that had arrived at the border first. The same trip last year went without incident or extensive search, he says.
Kashdan says that “there was a clear misunderstanding” between the students and the first border official who spoke with them. “From what we understood, it seemed as though students who came forward and admitted what they had would not be processed, and the contraband would simply be disposed of,” he says. “The majority of students were unhappy at the lack of clarity from the border patrol officers and the manner in which they handled the situation.”
A spokesman for the border patrol gives a different account, saying the officer told students that volunteering any contraband would expedite the inspection. When no one admitted having contraband, officers began searching baggage and found the illegal substances, the spokesman says. Officers again asked the remaining students to voluntarily hand over any illicit substances, and some complied, leading to citations from police, according to the spokesman.
The police report included a reminder to students that while the drinking age in Canada is 18, possession of alcohol by anyone under 21 is illegal in Vermont.
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