The Lantern

Issue date: 5/14/07 Section: Campus

Media Credit: Shino Omura Zach Germaniuk, a junior in English, and the president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, stands next to the "eye tree" on South Oval.

The stereotypes could not do it. Neither could the scoffs or the "dirty hippy" jibes. No, not even a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court could stop one unofficial Ohio State tradition from happening.

The Ohio Hempfest, which will stake its claim on the South Oval for the 21st year in a row on June 2, has faced its share of adversity. But each year the festival carries on. After all, it is the first amendment, man.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy at OSU, an advocacy group that pushes for the reduction of drug penalties, took over the festival almost 10 years ago. Since then the attendance has risen from a few hundred in 1999 to 3,000 in 2006 and to a projected 5,000 people this year, said sources from the organization.

One thing, however, is certain about this year's festival: The support of OSU is on the side of SSDP.

A History of Tension

When University Police told Phil DeSenze they planned on canceling Hempfest in the spring of 2004, the then SSDP president was not satisfied with their reasoning.

"They told us we didn't inform them long enough in advance before the festival, which we did," DeSenze said. "Basically, it was a bunch of baloney."

Instead of complying with the demands of the school and University Police, DeSenze and the organization hired a lawyer. Their case addressed an issue of free speech, which immediately made it a federal lawsuit.

"So, we ended up in Washington and we won," said the senior in political science.

The Supreme Court decision came just hours before the event was scheduled to begin, which both hurt and helped the festival.

"It hurt because we lost some vendors and sponsors, but it helped because we got a lot of publicity," DeSenze said.

The ruling was just one of many factors that led to compliance between the organization and the university. Another was the resignation of former chief of University Police John Petry, who helped orchestrate the university's decision to cancel the 2004 festival. With the new change in administration, SSDP sought to bridge gaps created by a lack of communication, DeSenze said.

At a recent Undergraduate Student Government meeting, SSDP secured a $1,000 public security grant to help fund a police presence and an ambulance for this year's event - a decision that faced criticism from several USG senators.

"This sets a dangerous precedent," said Patrick Sprinkle, an undergraduate student senator. "We shouldn't be funding dangerous causes. The senate would be making a mistake to (fund) this."

Fellow undergraduate student senator Mary Estock agreed with Sprinkle.

"The police chief certainly isn't going to come to something called Hempfest," she said. "The name alone implies that it's in support of drug use."

University Police, however, said that simply is not the case. Assistant Chief of Police Rick Amweg said all student organizations are treated the same when it comes to security issues.

After the vote passed 5-3 in favor of SSDP, undergraduate student senator Stephen Smith had one last thing to say: "I'm just curious if anyone knows when the tobacco and LSD Fest bills will be coming to the senate."

A New Leadership

Before he graduated high school, given any thought to college or taken his ACT or SAT tests, Zack Germaniuk knew he wanted to be an activist. The junior in English attempted to start a SSDP chapter at his high school, John F. Kennedy in Warren, Ohio, but was stymied by the school's administration.

"It was a private, Catholic high school, so that didn't go over so well," he said.

As a national organization, SSDP maintains several outreach programs to high schools around the country, Germaniuk said. After graduating and spending a summer at Harvard University studying politics and policy, he came to OSU where he became involved with DeSenze and the Columbus chapter of the organization.

If his dreadlocks and mutton-chop sideburns offer an unkempt first impression of the SSDP president, his passionate and metered speech quickly shoos it away.

"As president of the organization, it has always been my intention to educate people," he said, "Education is the foundation for action."

Germaniuk and the small, core group of SSDP members have labored for the past eight months, trying to raise the last of the $10,000 budget for the event. In addition to donations and sponsorships, SSDP is hosting two benefit concerts this year to help raise additional funds. Both concerts will be held at the High Five Bar and Grill, on Tuesday and Saturday.

A Cause for Alarm

In 1998, the legendary Higher Education Act was amended to exclude those convicted of drug offenses from federal funding. The legislation, known as the Drug Provision of the HEA, has been a hot topic for many proponents of drug law reforms. SSDP in particular is centralized around this legislation, and has lobbied extensively over the last decade to have the amendment changed.

"The war on drugs has been waged in the name of young people," said Kris Krane, executive director of SSDP, based in Washington. "It's incumbent upon the youth to say 'no longer - not in our name.'"

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 7,664 students have been denied federal funding in Ohio because of drug convictions since 1998; however, after Congress passed legislation in 2004 that allowed federal aid to those with previous drug convictions, the number slowed down dramatically, Krane said. The OSU Office of Financial Aid reported 93 students were denied aid in 2003, compared to only five this year.

Regardless, Germaniuk, who has high hopes for the turnout of this year's Hempfest, stressed the importance of student awareness.

"The old adage says 'an armed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny but I would add to that 'an educated is an equally good defense,'" he said.

John Cropper can be reached at cropper.21@osu.edu.

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