How does a university best look after its students’ welfare?
By initiating a Drug Enforcement Agency investigation after the overdose death of one of its students, San Diego State University has provided a good answer to that question.
Many were shaken when almost 100 people were arrested as part of a suspected drug ring this month.
A smaller number of people have raised concerns that, by inviting undercover officers onto its campus, SDSU had overstepped its boundaries as an educational institution.
Both those who endorse SDSU’s actions and those who question them bring up student welfare as their main concern.
When students’ lives are in danger, however, the argument should be clear.
The drug ring busted by this investigation not only sold potentially lethal illicit drugs but had also begun to acquire guns.
It obviously constituted a threat to the student body.
While there are cases ““ such as illegal file sharing ““ in which schools should not necessarily implicate students in wrongdoing, in this commendable instance of a university’s cooperation with the FBI, the school should be commended for how it recognized the need to protect student welfare.
In particular, SDSU should be commended for boldly confronting the issue directly and effectively, rather than attempting to cover up the problem or shying away from it in fear of negative publicity.