2008 Woodie Awards
Drug culture at Vanderbilt
Michael Robie
Current Events Editor
A specter is haunting Vanderbilt - the specter of student drug use. Like the upcoming panel in next week's IMAGE week, Orbis has taken a new approach to the face of the Vanderbilt drug culture. So often the voice of the drug user is overlooked and lost in the noise of statistics, official comments and on-the-record niceties that gloss over the reality of the underworld. In this issue, Orbis interviews a drug user to learn more about the personal face of drug use at Vanderbilt. The name has been changed. The person we spoke with, "John." is a current Vanderbilt student.
Orbis: Describe the Drug Culture at Vanderbilt, who buys, who sells?
John: "First thing you have to know, the majority of people who come here know nothing of selling drugs, only buying them in high school. They come here to an environment where they can excel due to the lack of competition. Here at Vanderbilt it's very low key, except for about three or four guys who deal with hard core prime time guys. These four guys deal out about, each one of ‘em, two pounds a piece when they pick up. That's a two pound drug deal, a twenty year sentence if they get caught with it."
Orbis: Are these undergraduates?
John: "Yes. It's who has the balls and brains to do it."
Orbis: Aside from pot, what would you say the most popular drug on campus is?
John: "It breaks down differently. There are factions of students who really love ecstasy, there's factions who love cocaine. Adderal is the one drug everyone wants."
Orbis: Why do they want it?
John: "To study. To think."
Orbis: What was your first experience with pot at Vanderbilt?
John: "It was smoking blunts on the patio of my dorm."
Orbis: Would you say that drug use is pretty popular among frats and sororities?
John: I'd say that it's a ridiculous question. There's a perception about frats and sororities, but there's a reason for that perception. Drugs are party favors.
Orbis: Are drugs done at theme parties?
John: "Drugs are done everywhere on campus."
Orbis: How popular do you think ecstasy is?
John: "I personally, feel, that ecstasy is a drug that is on the decline because it is really not good for your body."
Orbis: When did you last use it?
John: "A year ago."
Orbis: What about pot or cocaine?
John: "Cocaine? Tonight."
Orbis: Who are you doing it with later?
John: "A friend, he likes Frank Sinatra."
Orbis: You've sold too; why did you start selling?
John: "For money, and because it's easy."
Orbis: When you were selling, about how much money could you make?
John: "I can't tell you that."
Orbis: Would you say that drug culture at Vanderbilt is a hidden thing?
John: "I think you'd say it's a hidden thing. I think about half the people at Vanderbilt know that drugs at Vanderbilt are a fact of life, nonetheless."
Orbis: What made you want to try cocaine?
John: "I watched the Chappell show just like everybody else, and I saw Rick James say, "this is a hell of a drug."
Orbis: Tell me about the first time you every used cocaine
John: "First time I did coke was, uhhh, I was in high school, I used to drink a lot of coffee to study a lot of the time."
Orbis: Starbucks coffee?
John: "Dunkin donuts. I've never since then used coke to study, but as an upper, it's the best there is."
Orbis: Would you consider yourself addicted?
John: "You mean to Dunkin Donuts coffee? Yes."
Orbis: Ok, fair enough.
Orbis: "One last question, for Vanderbilt students who haven't tried drugs in high school, what prompts them to try it in college? Specifically, it's not like Vanderbilt is the most high-pressure stressful academic institution out there, say compared to U Chicago or Cornell, so why do they do it?"
John: "If you want to talk about high pressure, why don't you talk to a Vanderbilt girl about the pressure of going to a school that Playboy considers high quality. There's a lot if rich white kids with a lot of angst and money. With all that, all you need to do is make drugs available and they'll buy it."