History has always told a story of the “haves” and the “have nots.” If you have money, affluence and fame you can literally get away with murder.

You may know Ray Lewis as Baltimore’s Pro Bowl linebacker, but did you know that before turning out a stellar performance in Super Bowl XXXIV he was standing trial for double homicide charges? The prosecution dismissed all charges after Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, and he went happily on his way to win a Super Bowl ring.

Who could forget about former Green Bay tight end Mark Chmura? He went for a drunken dip in a hot tub with minors donning only his skivvies. One of the 17-year-old girls later accused Chmura of rape. Ultimately the jury sided with the defense and the charges against Chmura were dropped.

I have to give the jury credit. Obviously the man was innocent. He just wanted to go for a swim and the hot tub was probably the only thing around. Also, he didn’t have any swimming trunks readily available, so he went in his underwear. Why was he with minors? He had to supervise them, of course. Mark Chmura is guilty? You’ve got to be kidding me.

It’s a shame that as students we aren’t afforded the leniency that sports superstars are. No one seems to care that Ricky Williams took a year off from the NFL to smoke weed, yet if an RA catches a faint whiff of some marijuana, the University Police are called. Sure, maybe the smell of burnt popcorn is covering up the bong fumes, but maybe you just suck at making popcorn. Ricky Williams’s reward for smoking up is a fat contract. What do you get? A nice felony slapped on your permanent record.

Earlier in the school year the University Police set up a D.U.I. checkpoint on campus. My friend Dan was minding his own business in the passenger seat when an officer asked to see his license. The license “appeared as though it had been previously altered,” and Dan was forced to appear in court. I fully support the prevention of drunk driving, but don’t use the stop point as an excuse to fill your ticket quota. If busting Dan for a license that had once been altered isn’t an invasion of privacy, then it sure as hell is harassment.

If I wanted to have my mom and dad up my ass every five minutes, I would have gone to community college. There’s a big difference between throwing a keg party in your suite and having a brew with your pizza. Before arraigning college students on every possible charge, let’s reprimand the real criminals first.

Erica Fritz is a junior psychology major.