Week 8: More Interviews!

This week was helpful because we are starting to get a clear view of the finish line. I kept sending out the survey link to all my groups messages in order to get more responses. In class we divided up the survey responses that we have received so far in order to begin working on interviews with students. I emailed the student I am in charge of interviewing, but she has not responded yet. If she does not respond by tomorrow morning, I will email her again tomorrow.

Speaking of interviews, I scheduled more for this coming week! I have an interview on Monday with Arthur Choate, a West Lafayette Police Captain who is in charge of special services including the DARE program and other outreach programs. Along with Captain Choate, Lieutenant Jon Eager will be joining us who is also an officer for the West Lafayette Police Department. Eager is an investigating commander and has been researching drugs, especially marijuana, for years. Some of the questions I have prepared for the interview are:

1. Since marijuana is so common these days, do you guys tend to be less harsh for arrests or is that only up to police discretion?
2. Would you say you have a significant amount of arrests in the Chauncey area opposed to the rest of West Lafayette? 
3. Do you have to verify that the person being arrested is a student?
4. Do you send all the arrests to the Dean if they are a student?
5. How do you make the decision whether or not to arrest the person and take them to jail or just give them a ticket? Do prior convictions count toward this decision? 

1. What are the efforts of DARE now? 
2. Is DARE still being taught in schools?
3. Do you emphasize marijuana in DARE since it is so common?

1. In your professional opinion, do you think marijuana is a major gateway drug? Do you notice this in the civilians you arrest? 
2. Have you researched the health effects of marijuana?
   1. if so, how do you see it affecting people’s overall health?
3. Does smoking marijuana significantly impair driving? 

Then on Wednesday, I have an interview scheduled with the Purdue Student Legal Services Director, Leslie Charters. I will be asking her questions based on how students are affected by marijuana charges that go to the Dean of Students and what the Student Legal Services do to help these students. I am curious about how far these charges go in order for the student to be dismissed from the university. What does the discipline look like for a student who gets in trouble for marijuana?

Now, I am doing research on those who I will be interviewing to prepare for the meetings.