After last week’s debate about the student confidential informant program, the Student Government Association is meeting Tuesday night to finalize its statement regarding the issue.
Jennifer Raichel, SGA chairwoman of the Undergraduate Experience Committee, said she sees the program as well-intentioned, but misses the mark regarding protection of the individual student.
“(The University of Massachusetts Police Department) has a responsibility to keep our campus and us safe,” Raichel said. “The way I choose to interpret this is that it is their responsibility to keep both the individual student safe and maintain an environment conducive to our safety and learning.”
Raichel, one of many SGA members opposed to the program, said that while the program’s initiatives for the betterment of the community are commendable, they are not an excuse for putting one student’s well-being in danger.
“The confidential informant program is an effort to get rid of drugs and those that are dealing them, and maintain a safe environment,” she said. “However it does so at the expense of the individual student.”
The danger Raichel refers to is one of continued drug abuse, marked by isolation caused by the stigma of being seen as a “snitch.” The fact that confidential informants can continue to live in the drug culture and are not required to receive any sort of treatment troubles many, including the chairwoman.
“The confidential informant program in use by UMPD does not require participants to take drug tests, go to a rehab facility or seek counseling,” Raichel said. “The participants often face no disciplinary action for their violations of drug laws and policies, and continue to be involved in the drug scene in order to fulfill their roles as confidential informants.”
“The fact that the confidential informant program allows the use of addicts as informers as long as they are ‘carefully supervised and controlled’ … keeps participants in destructive environments and does not allow them the opportunity to fight their addiction to the furthest extent,” Raichel said.
Without the confidential informant program, students will most likely face serious consequences when arrested for possession of illegal drugs, according to Raichel.
“Confidential informants face criticism from peers and may even receive threats from other dealers, but if they feel like the other option is getting kicked out of school and losing their scholarships, which it usually is, they may feel like they have little choice in becoming a CI,” she said.
UMPD may face a new challenge in dealing with drugs without informants, but Raichel said she believes the police can keep the school safe without the program.
“Without the confidential informant program, I think that UMPD could still keep our campus and myself safe without endangering the health and life of an individual student,” she said.
The SGA will meet Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center to continue the discussion regarding the confidential informant program and come to a conclusion on its official statement regarding the policy.
Chris McDonald can be reached at [email protected].
