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Brown University SSDP
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Brown University SSDP is an extremely active SSDP chapter located in Providence, RI. It received the 2005 Outstanding Chapter Award and its consistently dedicated leadership has made it a model for SSDP chapters since its inception in 2002.
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[edit] Origins
The Brown University chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy was founded in September 2002 by Ben Kintisch, then in his final semester at Brown. Ben started Brown SSDP by attending the Brown University Student Activities Fair with a card table, a pen, and a sheet of lined paper. He had not registered for the Activities Fair like the other groups, but was able to find an empty space big enough for the table he'd brought, and set up shop by labeling his paper "Brown SSDP. Name. Email."
Jesse Stout was the first student to sign up. Nathaniel Lepp was the second.
On a Monday night, the day before classes started for the fall semester, Ben sent an email to his new list asking everyone to show up for an introductory meeting at 10pm on the steps of Faunce House. This outdoor meeting sitting on the ground in front of Faunce House changed Rhode Island history forever. Attendees included super-senior Ben Kintisch and freshmen Jesse Stout, Nathaniel Lepp, Mara Terras, Diana Tamir, Chloe Bellows, and Adam Goodchild.
At subsequent meetings, Ben introduced fun and informative meeting elements to ensure that these freshmen would consistently return and bring friends, for positive attendance growth. These included icebreaker games like freeze tag and "If you were an animal or vegetable, which category and which one would you be?" as well as Drug Policy News of the Week reports culled from the DRCNet Drug War Chronicle.
Soon, Ben's leadership became more hands-off with the realization that he would be graduating in a few short months and the group would need to promote its own leaders and agenda. For this purpose, he asked the other, non-graduating members to choose both short-term (1-year) and long-term (4-year) goals. Brown SSDP elected to end Brown Police & Security patrols of dormitories by the end of the academic year, and to legalize medical marijuana in RI by the time of the then-freshmen's graduation (spring 2006).
Brown SSDP faced initial organizational challenges including the discovery that two other separate SSDP chapters existed at Brown unbeknownst to one another. One chapter, which consisted of a guy who had once written a letter to the editor of the Brown Daily Herald about the Higher Education Act, resisted Brown SSDP's importunings to join forces. The other, led by Nathan Dahl, was happy to join forces. The two groups compromised by holding meetings at the original time of 10pm Monday nights, but now at Nate's house, 146 Lloyd Avenue.
[edit] History & Accomplishments
In fall 2002, under self-appointed President Ben Kintisch, Brown SSDP collected 1500 petition signatures (1/4 of Brown undergrads) asking President Ruth Simmons to instruct Brown Police & Security to cease patrolling inside dormitories, on the grounds that violent crimes on the streets of Providence was more deserving of Police attention. President Simmons received the petition favorably and ordered Brown Security out of dorms. Since then, Brown Security officers will only enter dormitories when called by a student. This effort occurred in conjunction with the first annual Brown SSDP Freedom Week, a series of civil liberties-themed lectures. Two Brown SSDP members, Ben Kintisch and Nathaniel Lepp, attended the joint national conference of MPP and SSDP in Anaheim, CA.
In spring 2003, as a collective with no formal leadership structure, Brown SSDP embarked on its longer-term goal of enacting statewide protections for medical marijuana patients. The chapter organized the First Annual Brown University Students for Sensible Drug Policy Medical Marijuana Symposium, a three-day conference held in April 2003. The Symposium (or "FABUSSDPMMS") brought together medical marijuana patients, legislators, doctors, students, activists, members of the media, and citizens from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Speakers included Rep. Frank Smizik of MA, Rep. Jim Abrams of CT, Rep. Steven Costantino of RI, Sen. Rhoda Perry of RI, Allen St. Pierre of NORML, Dr. John Morgan of CUNY, Robert Rooks of A Better Way Foundation, Ann McCormick, Fatema Gunja of the ACLU, Darrell Rodgers, Shawn Heller, Tom Angell of URI SSDP, Bruce Mirken of MPP, Keith Saunders of MassCANN, and Mark Braunstein. The three days of film screenings, speeches, panel discussions, and roundtable discussions climaxed in a press conference covered by ABC, CNN, WBRU, and the Brown Daily Herald.
In fall 2003, under President Nathaniel Lepp, Brown SSDP hosted a 2nd annual Freedom Week, featuring Jack Cole of LEAP. To capitalize on the statewide momentum in favor of medical marijuana created by the Medical Marijuana Symposium, Nathaniel and Tom Angell of URI SSDP founded the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition. The chapter collected 1000 petition signatures asking President Ruth Simmons to end Brown Police dormitory patrols, since she had already agreed with the chapter and ended Brown Security dormitory patrols the previous fall, and she did.
In spring 2004, under President Jesse Stout, Brown SSDP sent the largest delegation to the SSDP National Conference in Manchester, NH in January. In March, Brown SSDP organized a series of events called Psychedelics Week, which included a lecture by Rick Doblin of MAPS and a rave in Sayles Hall called "Insomnia: A Party to Protest the RAVE Act," posters for which featured a dancing, color-inverted Trevor Stutz. This semester also saw the kickoff of Brown SSDP's involvement in the issue of felony disenfranchisement with a speech by Laleh Ispahani of the ACLU Voting Rights Project. In April, the chapter held the Second Annual Brown University Medical Marijuana Symposium (or "SABUSSDPMMS"), a streamlined one-day Symposium with speakers Rep. Tom Slater of RI, Rep. Penny Bacchiochi of CT, Rhonda O'Donnell, Tom Angell, Mark Braunstein, Dr. John Morgan, Melissa Milam, Justin Holmes, and Nathaniel Lepp. The event was covered by Channels 6 (ABC) and 12 (CBS) television news.
In fall 2004, under Co-Presidents Trevor Stutz and Katherine Cummings, Brown SSDP worked with the Brown University Department of Health Education in organizing the Brown University Drug Resource Center. Brown SSDP stepped up its involvement in ending felony disenfranchisement by holding a "Right to Vote" panel and hosting a concert featuring by hip-hop headliners Dead Prez. The 3rd Annual Freedom Week was successful and included a medical marijuana event and Days of Action on HEA and Right to Vote. 16 Brown SSDP members, the largest delegation, attended the SSDP Northeast Regional Conference at Columbia University. 15 members attended the SSDP National Conference hosted by University of Maryland SSDP, tied for first with URI SSDP, and Nathaniel Lepp was elected to the SSDP Board of Directors.
In spring 2005, under President Trevor Stutz, Brown SSDP joined the statewide Right to Vote Coalition headed by the RI Family Life Center. Brown SSDP also held a benefit concert for Right to Vote and attended a Right to Vote rally in force. Brown SSDP supported legislation that would have made Rhode Island the first state to compensate students who lose aid under the HEA. Member Nathaniel Lepp testified at a State House legislative hearing in favor of ending mandatory minimum sentencing in Rhode Island. The Brown University Drug Resource Center opened, offering an accessible, confidential and non-judgmental space in which students could ask questions and receive reliable, up-to-date information about drugs and the effects of drug use from trained peer counselors. Brown SSDP members attended hearings on medical marijuana at the State House organized in part by Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, and the General Assembly passed the RI Medical Marijuana Act, but Governor Carcieri vetoed it.
In fall 2005, under President Kai Morrison, Brown SSDP continued its involvement in the issue of felony disenfranchisement by organizing an on-campus symposium called America Incarcerated featuring a fundraiser for Right to Vote. The Brown Drug Resource Center enjoyed its a full semester of operation. Brown SSDP brought the largest delegation of any chapter to the SSDP National Conference, held in conjunction with Drug Policy Alliance in Long Beach, CA, where Brown SSDP received the Outstanding Chapter Award and Trevor Stutz was elected to the Board of Directors.
In spring 2006, under President Dan MacCombie, Brown SSDP once again stepped up its involvement in ending felony disenfranchisement by hosting a lecture by Rob Richie, Director of FairVote. Brown SSDP sent the largest delegation to the SSDP Northeast Regional Conference at SUNY New Paltz. On January 3, 2006, Brown SSDP members attended the legislative session at which the RI House of Representatives overrode the Governor's veto, enacting the RI Medical Marijuana Act and realizing the chapter's first-ever long-term goal.
Image:BrownSSDP1.jpg In fall 2006, under President Juliana Soic, Brown SSDP succeeded in another major long-term goal. Member Ariel Werner coordinated the chapter's successful support of the RI Right to Vote campaign and its amendment to the RI Constitution returning the right to vote to felons on parole and probation. Also, Brown SSDP sent the largest delegation to the SSDP National Conference in Washington, DC, where Matt Palevsky was elected to the Board of Directors and Dan MacCombie was elected an Alternate .
In spring 2007, under President Julia Van de Walle, Brown SSDP organized the SSDP Northeast Regional Conference. Speakers at "Confronting the Drug War: Envisioning Alternatives" included former U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee, Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann, Brown University's Dr. David Lewis, author Daniel Pinchbeck, Brown University Professor Glenn Loury, Dr. Jody Rich, Rep. Tom Slater of RI, Peter Christ of LEAP, Kris Krane of SSDP, Nathaniel Lepp, Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition Executive Director Jesse Stout, Trevor Stutz, Morgan Brent, Daniel Williams, and Micah Daigle. Also, Brown SSDP assisted the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition's successful campaign to remove the sunset clause from the RI Medical Marijuana Act and make it permanent.
In fall 2007, under President Cory McAlister, Brown SSDP hosted a lecture series featuring former ACLU executive director, Ira Glasser, and LEAP speaker, Bradley Jardis.
[edit] Awards
- Outstanding Chapter Award - 2005
- Change Beyond Campus Award - 2006