Dickinson College to Host Debate on the Legalization of Marijuana

Dickinson will host a debate on the potential legalization of marijuana in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, April 23, at 7 p.m. in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium, located at 360 West Louther Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Recent decisions in Colorado and Washington to legalize the use of marijuana with certain restrictions have reignited the debate over U.S. drug policy. Participants in the debate will provide insight into the various arguments for and against legalized marijuana for recreational use, with the purpose of informing students, faculty and members of the Carlisle community on the issue and its likely ramifications for Pennsylvania. 

Dickinson’s Marc Mastrangelo, associate professor of classical studies, and Crispin Sartwell, associate professor of philosophy, along with two Dickinson students, will participate in the debate. Mastrangelo has published books and articles on the literature of the later Roman Empire, Greek tragedy, and ancient intellectual history. He is cofounder of the humanities collective, a faculty group from a variety of disciplines. Sartwell is an associate professor of philosophy. He is the author of Political Aesthetics, Six Names of Beauty and several other books, and his essays have appeared in The New York Times and the Times Literary Supplement, among others.

The student panelists are William Nelligan '14, a political science and history double major and the Student Senate president; and Willa Hut '17, who has interests in studio art and English. Alex Toole '14, a political science and French double major, will moderate the debate.

The event is the first program of the series titled “Dickinson Debates,” which is sponsored by The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and the Student Senate Public Affairs Committee. For more information, visit www.clarkeforum.org or call 717-245-1875.

Published April 22, 2014