Big Brother is Watching

Student activists are accusing University Police of violating students' privacy with overly aggressive drug enforcement tactics in the wake of several incidents in which officers posed as students or drug dealers.

Undercover officers frequently patrol hallways in dorms searching for would-be narcotics buyers, University Police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell said. But the activist group Students for Sensible Drug Policy said police crossed the line when an officer attempted to join their Facebook group under an assumed name. The students discovered the officer when they cross-referenced her e-mail address in the university directory.

Atwell said she did not know of the Facebook incident SSDP mentioned, but she defended officers' approach to busting students for drugs in student housing.

"This has always been a tactic that we've used," she said, noting that drug enforcement is a particular priority for University Police because drug use often leads to other types of crime. "Our police are committed to upholding the drug and alcohol policy. ... What's unreasonable about upholding the law?"

Why would the police want to give up nice, safe and easy drug busts? They might be forced to fight crimes that have victims.

Police infiltrating organizations is a great political tactic. It is a barrier to building trust between members. After all, if narcs infiltrate student organizations, they are capable of infiltrating any organization. For all that I know, narcs have infiltrated the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party. Maybe the president is a dirty narc, ready and willing to report us if we dare pass joints around. I heard that he doesn't even smoke marijuana. How can we trust him? Infighting and a lack of trust can be a real barrier to achieving the goals and aims of activist organizations. If members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy are busy pointing fingers and trying to figure out who the narc is, they will have a much more difficult time raising money, printing and handing out flyers, organizing rallies, blogging or writing letters to the editor. Militant drug legalizers will be less effective. Divide and conquer!

I wonder if Martin Luther King or Ghandi had to deal with narcs.