By MEGAN STUDDARD

News Editor

After last month’s drug-related arrest, Piedmont administration called another search of the dorms. 

Drug dogs arrived to search Ipswitch Hall and one floor of Getman-Babcock Hall around 9:15 a.m. Thursday morning. 

The Lee Arrendale Correctional Facility in Alto brought the dogs again. 

Dick Martin, chief of campus police, said that nothing was found on this round of searching. 

“I’d like to call it a successful day,” he said.

Martin was not clear about a specific reason prompting this week’s search, but did note that student complaints factored into the decision. 

“It was not random,” said Martin.  “Anytime we bring a dog here, it’s based on either information given to us or other police agencies or from student complaints. Any dorm we get information on, the administration has decided that they are going to act on it.”

Senior business major Cameron Pruitt is a resident of Ipswitch Hall and witnessed his room being searched. 

“It was a pain having to get up and clear out of our rooms,” said Pruitt.  “But overall it wasn’t too bad, and the Res Life team was respectful and nice, so that made it easier.”

Freshman Kendall Newell, a resident of GB, was not in the dorm when the dogs came through. 

“I don’t care if they search my room, but I wish the RAs or RDs would let us know they came after the fact with a note or something,” said Newell. 

According to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Education in accordance with the Clery Act, arrests for on-campus, drug abuse violations have been on the rise across the state and nation.  

These type of violations have risen from 36 in 2010 to 42 in 2011 for private, four-year colleges in Georgia. Georgia’s four-year public colleges are also no exception, posting arrest numbers of 297 for 2010 and 405 for 2011.  On a national level, drug abuse violations on all campuses have increased by 11 percent. Data for 2012 is not available yet. 

“I wish it would all just stop and we wouldn’t have to bring another drug dog to the campus,” Martin said.