• Rich Barlow

    Senior Writer

    Photo: Headshot of Rich Barlow, an older white man with dark grey hair and wearing a grey shirt and grey-blue blazer, smiles and poses in front of a dark grey backdrop.

    Rich Barlow is a senior writer at BU Today and Bostonia magazine. Perhaps the only native of Trenton, N.J., who will volunteer his birthplace without police interrogation, he graduated from Dartmouth College, spent 20 years as a small-town newspaper reporter, and is a former Boston Globe religion columnist, book reviewer, and occasional op-ed contributor. Profile

Comments & Discussion

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There are 73 comments on Students Cited in Vermont for Alcohol, Drug Possession

      1. If the drugs weren’t illegal, there would be no problem in the first place.

        Not to mention, three students wouldn’t have just had their lives ruined because they were caught doing something that nearly 40% of the US population has done. And one student wouldn’t have just had her life ruined for possessing a pill.

        DUH.

  1. They aren’t cops. They are border patrol agents. There is a very big difference between the two. They shouldn’t have been carrying illegal items across the border. Good job by the border agents.

  2. Crossing the Canadian border is a huge risk and should be avoided at all cost, even if you don’t have contraband. The Canadian border officials are rude and unwelcoming to US citizens and will jump at the opportunity to make it a difficult crossing . They once made my party wait overnight on the side of the road because someone in our group answered truthfully and said he had a DUI 9 YEARS AGO!! After a thorough search and receiving a fax from court officials they finally let us pass. All this pales in comparison to the nightmare of re-entry into the United Stated. You would think US border agents would treat citizens of their own country with respect and dignity, maybe even welcoming, but forget about it.

    Long story short… Don’t go to Canada. It’s not worth the trouble.

    1. Americans get caught unaware by this. Canada considers DUI a felony. Our government strong-armed Canada into refusing entry to anyone with a felony on their record as well as requiring Canadian agents to search the US database. A DUI conviction in the past 5 years will prohibit entry and 6-10 years requires legal paperwork that takes several months and several thousand $$. Fortunately not an issue for me. People usually slip through in their car but the chances of getting caught are a lot higher flying there. If you want the law to change, lobby our government, not Canada’s.

  3. 1. Alcohol is a drug, so alcohol and drug possession is a tautology.
    2. Those cops are a–holes. For f—‘s sake, a group of college students coming back from a ski trip, what did they expect?
    3. An ecstasy pill is the easiest thing to conceal so:

    In this story, everybody is a moron.

  4. I think it is in EXTREMELY poor taste to publish the students’ names who received citations. Not only does it seem literally pointless to do so, but it will also tarnish the way those students’ Google searches come up by potential employers. How is that fair? Everyone deserves a second chance-especially considering these “citations” haven’t been discussed in a courtroom yet. Are we, as people living in the United States, not innocent until proven guilty? Did I miss something? If BU Today is so concerned with publishing the students’ names (because we all know journalists looove a scandal), they should have at least waited until the students were proven guilty.

    1. I completely agree. I am over 30 with a completely clean record until a couple months ago when I was arrested for a minor marijuana possession (a joint). There was a small blurb written up in the police blotter of my local paper. The case was eventually dismissed in court but I have a unique name and any Google search of my name turns up this article on the web. I am now in the process of changing my name so I can get a job without this hanging over my head :(

    2. No one lists student names when they get drug or alcohol violations while on campus, so why name names now? It just seems like it’s undeserved public humiliation. These (alleged) crimes are non-violent, so there’s no use trying to shame these students. They deserve at least some bit of privacy. This isn’t Mitchell’s List.

    3. And just like that, the article has now edited out the names. Unfortunately, the Daily Free Press, as well as local news channels have names on their sites as well.

    4. Won’t weigh in one way or the other, but the names are a matter of public record. Even if they weren’t published in the media, the names are easily accessed. Most employers (including mine) use services that do a background check of prospective hires. Even traffic tickets are part of the report.

      1. The point was that neither the students processed for marijuana/ecstasy possession have even had their court dates and been found guilty of anything nor have the alcohol possession students been actually cited for anything.

        Why not wait to publish names when the students are actually found to be guilty of something?

  5. 26 citations for ALL buses involved, and I think most were from UMass. Only 4 of them were for BU. See the boston dot com article from Tuesday: http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-21/news/31083937_1_college-students-boston-university-tour-buses

    “Twenty-six students were issued citations for minors in possession of alcohol. Three were charged with marijuana possession and a Boston University student was charged with possessing a single tablet of Ecstasy. Four of those cited were Boston University students, who could be subject to internal university discipline, said Boston University spokesman Colin Riley.”

    1. I’d say underage drinking and possession are two different things, but maybe I am nitpicking. On another note, as someone who received a *notice* for possession of alcohol, the citation won’t even go to effect *unless* I fail to oblige with their deferment program. Considering I already have, and I imagine the 25 others will, we will never actually see a citation or ever have it on our records.

      Just saying.

      1. I think what happened is only 4 BU students were actually issued citations, and the rest were just warnings which would become citations if the students failed to comply with the deferment program, as D says. This seems pretty fair. I suspect the outright citations went to individuals who failed to fess up and their bags were found by the border patrol dog (who was awesome). If boston.com is to be believed, then 22 UMass students failed to fess up, which makes sense based on what we saw from the bus: the first BU bus went right through with no hassle, then the first UMass bus showed up, there was a long wait, and then they brought out the drug sniffing dog. I bet the UMass students looked suspicious to the border patrol people, and that’s why they started searching bags at all and called in the dog. THEN the second UMass bus, and the remaining two BU buses, were thoroughly dog-sniffed and searched. The last two BU buses were just unlucky enough to be behind the UMass buses.

    2. Don’t tarnish UMass Bostons name with your inaccurate information from an unreliable source. You do not have the right to assume which group of students had the most violations.

  6. Turning otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals for breach of government regulations regarding possession and recreational use of drugs is an antiquated idea rooted racism that needs to end. It is time to legalize marijuana and drop the legal drinking age back to 18 (if we can send our young men into Afghanistan to fight for liberty at this “tender” age we should allow them to drink legally too).

    1. Why even post this? Your attempt at wit combined with facetiousness and insult may seem funny to you but, considering the anonymity of these comments, no one will ever know or care.

      But you like to poke fun at the plight of others so I guess people really like you already. Bravo.

  7. Why on earth in this post-911 world would you even consider having marijuana and ecstasy, such an illegal drug, on you when you cross the border from Canada? Authorities are worried that someone will cross with explosives since it’s such an open border, so Customs is a lot more thorough. So, DUH, why did they even have these things with them? And two of the four graduate in less than three months! Their parents must be so disappointed…

    1. “Their parents must be so disappointed”? Good thing everyone receiving a citation is an ADULT. Whether or not their parents are “disappointed” is both irrelevant and none of YOUR business. How dare you say such an insensitive-and frankly, irrelevant- thing about students (and their families) about whom you know absolutely nothing. I find your lack of tact “disappointing.”

    2. The kid should have just popped the pill and hidden the MJ in the bathroom of the bus. Then there’s even a chance they would all have something to smoke later on! And that six hours of waiting while they search the buses? He’s having a friggin blast!
      I’m just saying… some kids have no smarts under pressure.

    1. The problem with the drinking age if this, once a law goes into place theirs almost no pressure to change it unless there is dismal failure. The failure of our drinking age can be thought of as a dismal failure, but without quantitative proof there is little ground to stand on. Additionally, the majority of people in the power to make active changes to alcohol laws ARE 21, so they have little incentive to vote for something that would likely be very annoying to them (have you every been to bars with newly minted 18 years olds in Canada? Its not a pleasant experience that I would personally want in the US)

  8. Pigs on a power trip. Some of these students semesters were ruined over this, and for what gain. Prohibition devastates our country. Adults should be allowed to choose what they drink or smoke in there free time, and prosecution from the state will incite bingeing and dangerous accidents, rather than curb use. But wait, you all know this already. So why are these arbitrary laws still on the books?

  9. Whether or not the law is reasonable is irrelevant. That the law should be changed doesn’t mitigate the responsibility of the students to understand the risk they are taking when they knowingly break it.

    1. Civil disobedience and the fully informed jury are two ways that bad laws are overturned. During prohibition many otherwise law abiding citizens chose to break what they deemed a bad law. How is the behavior of these students any different?

      1. well to state the obvious prohibition was a widespread outlawing, where our system is an age restriction, which almost every country in the world has to a certain degree.

        Its much more subjective to decide which age should be the drinking rage, rather than pure illegality.

  10. I was on the trip and when we crossed into Canada the border guards were friendly and all they did was stamp our passports. Coming back though, I was on the last bus and the American guards were rude and treated us poorly. When someone mentioned in line that they were treating us like animals, a guard responded saying they could treat us worst than that if we wanted it. Overall Its great our government wasted 5 hours trying to find alcohol, I feel so much safer now..

    1. Welcome to the new reality. If you do not stand up for liberty here in America where on earth will you do so?

      As Benjamin Franklin said:

      “Those who will sacrifice temporary security for essential liberty deserve neither.”

      In Liberty

    2. Joe, I disagree. I was on the third bus too, and the American border patrol agents were totally professional and clear about what was happening. The agent who came onto the bus and offered everyone the opportunity to admit what they had was very clear about what was going to happen: “If you fess up, you get to speak to the state trooper. If you don’t fess up, I’m going to find it, and I’ll fine you $5,000, and THEN you get to speak to the state trooper.”

      1. The were perfectly professional, I disagree. I was on the first bus, detained for 2 hours for possession of very little alcohol and during the 2 hours told only “most of the time people don’t get arrested for this.”

        Also,

        “a guard responded saying they could treat us worst than that if we wanted it.”

        I don’t find that even in the ballpark of professional.

        1. I was on the third bus too, and we weren’t being treated like animals. Yes, it was crowded in there, but that was a matter of not having a lot of space, and all they did was keep asking us several times to squeeze into the corner so there would be room for people to come up to the counters and get our passports processed as fast as possible. Any student on the third bus who complained that we were being treated like animals was actually saying a completely false and nasty thing to the agent he said it to, so he shouldn’t have been surprised to get a “we can treat you much worse if you want it” comment back. That comment still ranks within the realm of “professional” as far as I’m concerned.

  11. 1) The present “War on Drugs” is a war on people; no victim, no crime. The comment by “Ron Paul” above is spot on.

    2) Unfortunately, the students can be disciplined by the university since all students, by paying tuition, agree to a university contract regarding misconduct (however that is defined). However, the application of misconduct is likely a sloppy one. What would happen if the same students were found to be in possession of marijuana in Boston, where the penalty amounts to nothing more than a civil fine. Would BU call for an equal disciplinary action for something equivalent to getting a parking ticket? One should see how arbitrary “misconduct” could be interpreted in this situation.

  12. I dont get why so many people are siding with the students? While lowering the drinking age and legalizing marijuana may sound great to some, it isn’t the reality. They brought substances across the border, knowing it was illegal (age-wise, in certain amounts, or completely) to have in possession. They got caught. They should have to face the consequences like adults.

    1. Are you really surprised? Many people consider actions like this to be a kind of civil disobedience. Just because something is the law does not necessarily make it right. I don’t think these students were trying to make any kind of grand statement, and I certainly don’t think they were trying to get caught. I’m just saying that these events get publicized because they bring attention to topical and divisive issues. So of course if someone supports recreational drug legalization, they will see these citations as a perpetuation of an unjust legal system and will come down on the side of the students.

  13. Ok this is what I think, if everyone who is voicing their opinions have all this energy to talk about what is going on, then do something about it.
    words aren’t enough get envoled this is your University….if you know the kids as friends of yours who did these terrible things find out the real reason they did what they did.

    The children have no one to look up to these days.
    all the people who we once trusted one by one are letting us down.
    some we have no one to turn to for help, even though there is millions of good people out there to help you with Life and it’s problems
    we dont have time to reach out to them because we have to go on face book every minute of our day to check posting, you dont get help also because you have to text for 20 hours of your day with the rest of the time to eat and sleep.
    your minds wasnt made to be a robot to process 100 things at a time.
    get back your life when you was happy without social networking.
    you all was doing fine without it, and if today it was taking away you still would be fine.you still can life your life old fasion way.
    what i’m saying enough is enough!!!!
    judge my comments all you want, they still will not bring back what has happened.
    sorry for the tough love.

    1. What did you expect from a bus full of college students?

      I agree that everything you say is happening, to some degree. However, it’s not the reason these kids drink and smoke some weed. This young generation isn’t so different from mine, growing up in the 70s and 80s. We all smoked weed, and much worse things, like meth, and snorted coke.

      I don’t see how these ADULTS are hurting anyone.

  14. Stuff like this is what fosters the huge mistrust gap between police and young people. Yes, what these kids had was illegal. Yes, the border patrol should probably be able to search bags if they want.

    But what bothers me is how the agents/police go about doing this. They absolutely misrepresented what would happen to students who came forward with illegal substances. I personally have been told on a traffic stop that “if I have any drugs, I should just hand them over, they will be disposed of, and I will only get my traffic ticket”, which is obviously a huge load of bullshit. These bait and switch tactics, while not illegal, just make me distrustful, fearful, and non-cooperative with the police in all of my interactions with them.

    1. That’s not what they said, at least not on the third bus. The border patrol agent was completely clear about what was going to happen: “If you fess up, you get to speak to the state trooper. If you don’t fess up, I’m going to find it, and I’ll fine you $5,000, and THEN you get to speak to the state trooper.”

        1. Definitely did not happen on the second bus. We were told that if you confess what you had they would throw it away and be brought in to do some administrative paperwork and be on your way. Six hours later the students with the drugs had citations and court dates.

  15. i was on the first bus to go through. the officers told the students that if they turned themselves in, whatever they had would be confiscated. if anyone stood up, though, they would search everyone, so everyone should just turn themselves in. they also said that if no one stood up, they would search every bag and if they found anything, there would be consequences

  16. Does anyone want to begin a campaign to lower the drinking age?
    After Obama is reelected he will be much more apt to make drastic changes, as he will have less to lose in his second term.
    Thoughts?

  17. When I was in college we used to go to Montreal to do exactly what these students did. Leave the booze behind and don’t be surprised if a bus full of college students gets searched, don’t be surprised.

  18. As a result of this breach of their 4th amendment rights some of these young people will be charged and possibly convicted of felony possession of recreational drugs the net result of which will be loss of other constitutionally protected rights.

    Under Vermont law, A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing marijuana in an amount consisting of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances, of an aggregate weight of two ounces or more containing any marijuana or knowingly and unlawfully cultivating more than three plants of marijuana shall be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both.

    A conviction for this crime is therefore a federal disqualifier for the right to bear arms. So if convicted for possession of pot (even if they do not actually serve time) these young people will lose the right to defend themselves with a firearm for the rest of their life. Is this a reasonable punishment ands just who is this result supposed to be protecting us from?

    1. Ron Paul, you’re just spouting nonsense now. As James says below, you’re crossing an international border. You have very limited 4th amendment rights. Next time, don’t try to bring pot across an international border. Duh.

      1. Excuse me but these were American citizens not a bunch of drug trafficking illegal aliens. Further. to the best of my knowledge they did not renounce their citizenship when they went skiing and finally they returning to the US not going to Canada when they were searched and treated worse than we treat most illegal aliens. In fact, if they were illegals we would have given them free healthcare, free college and a slap on the wrist.

  19. This is hilarious to read all of these uninformed students whining. Guess what, you have very limited 4th amendment rights when crossing an international border. The Border Patrol was correct in their actions. You brought illegal substances across the border and got cited for doing so. That is is the fault of these foolish students. The Border Patrol is under NO obligation to cut anyone a break. They exist to enforce federal law. The real victims here are the students who got delayed because of the idiots who brought drugs on the bus.

    1. These officer needed probable cause. Apparently our federal government thinks police in Arizona pulling over suspected illegal aliens have no probable cause to ask for their IDs but the border patrol has probable cause to search BU students returning from a ski trip to Canada. I do not think this bus full of kids presented a national security threat that any honest person would conclude justified the type search they were subjected to. I bet if these were illegal aliens the ACLU would be crying foul right now.

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