Point: Mary-Jane is not the enemy

Pot. It's a sticky issue. 

Mentioning marijuana elicits one of three reactions: a bland acknowledgment of its existence, a hope to take a puff or a shocked expression at mentioning the cultural taboo. 

The last reaction is out of line, miscalculated and ignorant.

Marijuana has been around for ages, and has been found to have many medical uses –– from leukemia treatment to pain relief –– and few negative effects beyond minor hallucination and smoke inhalation. It is, however, associated with a weak society. 

Marijuana has had a plagued history. It was first regulated in the 1930s by government officials who believed it made people insane and incapable of leading normal lives. 

In 1973 it was labeled as a Class I controlled substance with no apparent medical use. 

Anti-drug ads have associated it with suicide, violence and everything short of child-abuse. The Drug Enforcement Administration actively fights studies proving its effectiveness at treating ailments, confiscates it as medicine and puts nonviolent consumers in jail, claiming that pot kills. 

But here's a little fact the DEA may have missed: More people have been killed drinking water than smoking marijuana.  

But that isn't the fault of the DEA not regulating water; it's the fault of a bad law and a culture which finds itself squeamish at the slightest hint of the pot culture. 

Stoner culture is the source of most of the misunderstanding about marijuana. The word "pothead" drums up images of hooded hippies wearing hemp clothing, drinking organic milk and talking about their insights into the latest battle against capitalism. But in reality many smokers study physics, history, economics, politics, and in all likelihood, have voted for republicans. 

Providers, contrary to what daytime TV shows and Hollywood would have you believe, are ordinary people. Some work as accountants, others as construction workers and some as farmers; they just happen to provide a demanded service on the side. 

To some the question is, why waste time with pot? Well, why not? It's no more toxic than a cigarette, less dangerous than an irresponsible drinker and the act of smoking it is far less condescending than people who look down upon all three. 

Some say pot should be banned because it makes smokers different, estranging them from the world and reality. This is true. It does alter a person's perception, but that condition is certainly not limited to marijuana. 

The next time you sip on a mocha latte, gulp Coca-Cola or drink tea, remember that what you're drinking has caffeine in it and is far worse for your body than marijuana ever could be. 

Caffeine is a drug, and, unlike marijuana, is actually addictive; many people can't operate without it. Too much caffeine makes your heart race, increasing your stress level and making you irritable and jumpy. If you miss a coffee break, you will feel the same symptoms with the added bonus of exhaustion and withdrawal. If you drink caffeine on a regular basis you have the same dependance on it as someone addicted to heroin –– keep that in mind the next time you visit AJ's or try to pull an all-nighter.

The college's zero-tolerance policy toward marijuana, while ineffective at preventing students from smoking it, is simply the by-product of a culture of misunderstanding that spans generations. It will take time for marijuana to become accepted on a national scale and here at Hillsdale, but it no doubt will –– and already is, in small circles. 

In truth, there is nothing inherently wrong, evil or self-destructive in smoking marijuana –– at least not any more than smoking a cigarette or drinking coffee. Its maligned history has created a culture of ignorant paranoia and will continue to do so until the general populace is educated and the air clears around marijuana.

Hillsdale may be political, but don’t complain about it

Hillsdale has attracted the attention of "The newspaper of Capitol Hill," Roll Call. The paper recently wrote an article about the Kirby Center, our new fangled constitutional-education-and-intern-housing-center on Capitol Hill. That article inspired one of our own, entitled "Political or Civic?" begging the question if Hillsdale focuses far too much on politics in general. Well, it's no secret –– it does, and rightly so.
It's the nature of our school. Its political frame is written into our mission statement. To say that Hillsdale College, a school which fervently worships Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln (perhaps a little less so on the last one) in one breath, isn't fundamentally conservative takes either a willful amount of ignorance or the ability to lie like a politician.
On campus, there's a cold war between libertarians and conservatives, and the handful of liberals that do exist (they're out there, really!) are either silent or forgotten.
So, yes, we are a political school, but we're also a school concerned with science, athletics, language, theology, economics and biology. For example, our biology program offers trips to study in Africa and the Caribbean. Our economic and business programs offers students tremendous experiences with internships and lunches with well-known CEOs. Our physics and chemistry programs have instruments you won't find at other colleges our size or larger.
So while politics may be the defining part of our college, it doesn't define it in its entirety. Our focus is unfairly aimed at our politics because, well, that's what riles people up and grabs attention. In fact, Hillsdale's politics is probably why you came here.
Most other universities on the Hill, such as the University of Ohio, can be found in a lobbyist office. David Bobb, director of the Kirby Center, said Hillsdale College isn't. And, yes, the center may turn out lobbyists, which is great for students who wish re-live Thank You for Smoking, but it isn't the center's focus. Constitutional enlightenment is.
That and providing Hillsdale students with unique opportunities. The Kirby Center is a great move for the college and establishes excellent connections for any students interested in working in Washington D.C. or in politics.
We like to complain a lot at Hillsdale –– how the economics of Saga is a less than stellar deal for students, how a potential theology requirement in the core could alter the spirit of individuality at school which prides itself on individualism and how all work and no play makes Jack a Hillsdale student.
There's nothing wrong with embracing Hillsdale's political nature, even if you don't agree with it. Rarely, if ever, do we stop to say "Hey, we have a pretty good set-up here." Well, as much as it pains me to say that we do, we do.