No final decisions on what the Drug Task Force recommended will occur until the end of the spring semester. In his only interview with any media outlet about the report, SMU President R. Gerald Turner said he will ultimately have the final say in what suggestions will be implemented. But before he makes his final decision he wants each of the recommendations to be reviewed by the people who would have to execute the changes.
“I want them to review those and get back to me as quick as possible,” Turner said.
Some of the recommendations will seemingly be easier to implement than others, according to Turner, but he said he hasn’t made any decisions yet. He did say some will be fully implemented; some will likely be modified while others won’t be used.
Turner will have different Task Force recommendations sent to the office of legal affairs, the office of student life, the provost’s office and the office of business and finance among others.
He wants two things out of the reviews – what will it take legally to implement the changes and what type of resources would it take.
Some recommendations will have a lengthier evaluation process than others.
Most notably, the creation of an on-campus pub will require working with the city of University Park on the legalities of such an operation, how it would operate within the structure of SMU and how it would be regulated. Those are just some of the questions Turner said need to be answered before he could decide on whether to accept the proposal.
The proposal for Greek houses to host on-campus parties is one Turner believes needed to be brought up. While historically SMU has cracked down on house parties, he said now is the time to reevaluate that stance.
Turner was impressed with the breath and comprehensiveness of the Task Force’s report. He said it was obvious that a lot of time was spent putting it together and the report touched on all aspects of campus life, which he believes is key to making sure the recommendations are effective.
Turner liked how much of the report was about the academic life of the campus. He said it was important for professors and instructors to be involved in any changes that will occur.
“It’s easy to think of this as a student affairs issue,” Turner said. “It’s a total university issue.”
The one thing that did upset Turner was the leak of part of the report to CBS 11 last Thursday and the subsequent coverage by the local and national media. He said the stories damaged the context of the report.
“I thought it was unfair to the Task Force as a whole,” he said. “It made it look like it was only a report on parties and pubs.”
