ASU HAD MOST DRUG OFFENSES IN SYSTEM

Safety concerns are growing at Appalachian State University following
the second drug-related shooting death of a student in 13 months and
the mountain campus's reputation for easy access to illegal
substances, school officials say.

The Nov. 8 killing of Stephen Harrington, 19, of Raleigh, in an
apparent drug deal gone bad heightened the questions. Court documents
say Harrington was involved in a cocaine deal with his accused killers.

The slaying followed the slaying of Joseph "Joey" McClure, 22, in
October 2004. McClure, a senior from Pfafftown, was shot in the head
by someone trying to make a "substantial purchase" of marijuana from
him, court documents said.

"The safety concerns have hit a whole new level," said Cindy Wallace,
the university's interim vice chancellor for student development.

Wallace plans to meet Monday with the dean of students, ASU's head of
judicial affairs, the county sheriff and the Boone and campus police chiefs.

"The six of us are sitting down and going 'What on earth is going on
hereUKP'" she said.

Some point to the school's reputation as a campus coping with a drug problem.

Freshman Mitchell Askew, said a student from the Atlanta area once
told him that he chose to attend ASU because of its reputation for
easy availability of marijuana.

"It's kind of that hippie thing," said Askew , 18, of Murphy.
"There's a lot of weed up here, but a lot of people don't consider
that a drug. As far as hard drugs, I don't see that."

On-campus arrests for drug use at Appalachian State are in line with
those reported at much larger state universities. ASU -- with total
enrollment of about 14,600 -- reported 10 on-campus arrests for drug
violations in 2004. North Carolina State University -- with about
30,000 students -- had 10 and UNC-Chapel Hill -- attended by about
27,000 -- had eight.

In its required crime reports to the Department of Education, ASU
reported more judicial referrals on drug-related offenses than any
other school in the 16-campus University of North Carolina system in
2002, 2003 and 2004.

University data show ASU's judicial system handled 142 drug-related
offenses in 2004 -- more than any other school in the UNC system.
About one in 100 students at Appalachian State were involved in drug incidents.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which at about 15,300
students is the same size as ASU, reported 20 such incidents, or one
for every 718 students.

Experts warn that the differences between campuses could be
attributed to different policies or how the universities handle the
self-reporting.

"Here at Appalachian we have a pretty strict policy that if a police
officer is called to a location on campus and drugs or drug
paraphernalia is involved, every student in that room is going to be
referred to a judicial-affairs officer," ASU police chief Gunther Doerr said.

Students frequently experiment with drugs and alcohol, Doerr said.
Students arrested for drug possession usually have only small
quantities of marijuana rather than more serious illegal drugs, he said.

"My take is that students at Appalachian are probably typical of a
college student," Doerr said.