Major Drug Bust at San Diego State University

I never thought in a million years that the police would ever make such an enormous drug bust at an institution of higher learning. Yes, I know that there are drugs on college campuses, but dang, this is a bit much! What was the straw that broke the camel's back at San Diego State University? A year ago, Shirley Poliakoff, a 19-year-old freshman sorority member died from a cocaine overdose at the university and campus investigators set out to find out who was dealing drugs to their 34,000 students. The perpetrators were right under their nose, literally. It turned out their targets were on Fraternity Row, where authorities say unassuming facades of houses emblazoned with Greek symbols concealed thriving networks that may have used profits to finance fraternity operations. Undercover agents hit pay dirt yesterday and arrested 96 people, including 75 San Diego State students, during a five-month investigation into drug dealing on campus. Students at three fraternities were arrested.

Media reports state that 29 of the suspects were arrested early Tuesday in raids at nine locations including the Theta Chi fraternity, where agents found cocaine, Ecstasy and three guns. Eighteen of them were wanted on warrants for selling to undercover agents. San Diego State suspended Theta Chi and five other fraternities Tuesday pending a hearing on evidence gathered during the investigation.

Authorities said that one Theta Chi member allegedly sent text messages last month to regular customers offering reduced prices on bulk quantities of cocaine before he headed to Las Vegas for a fraternity formal. Grams of cocaine were on sale for as little as $35. "Attn faithful customers both myself and my associates will be in Vegas this coming weekend," the 19-year-old student wrote in the text message. "So stock up, we will be back Sunday night."

One student who was arrested was a month away from a criminal justice degree and another was about to receive a master's degree in homeland security. Yep, these people are indeed our future in protecting America from terroristic threats! What's wrong with that picture?

The Greek system has about 3,000 students, but Fraternity Row plays an outsized role in campus life. The San Diego chapter of Theta Chi, founded 61 years ago, was the first national fraternity on campus and has 65 members. Theta Chi has 131 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161,000 initiates. It was founded in 1856.

The DEA said that as the investigation proceeded, another student, from Mesa College, died of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house on Feb. 26. More than 130 undercover drug buys were made at locations including fraternity houses, student parking areas and dormitories during the investigation by university police and the DEA, authorities said.

It gets more disgusting. Authorities seized several guns, at least $60,000 in cash and about $100,000 worth of drugs, including marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine and illicit prescription drugs. Some drugs bought and sold by students were traced to gangs linked to Mexican cartels, according to the DEA.

To think that you would expect that this would never happen at a college campus. I know that there are a lot of drugs available on college campuses today, but once again I have to say, dang! Big time drug dealers on campus is simply not the right way to go. If this occurred on a predominantly black college or university, it would have been all over the news, but it was relatively buried in the mainstream news yesterday. Just my thoughts, you be the judge......