(Editor's note:"Hunter" is a real University student, but his name has been changed.)
Hunter is a normal college student in most ways. He has a part-time job, attends class regularly and has aspirations of attending graduate school. He even makes good grades.
But Hunter is different from most college students. He readily admits that he is a drug dealer, involved in the sale of illegal narcotics.
Hunter said he deals because of financial need, because he has friends in New York and Virginia Beach who readily serve as suppliers, and because, in a pinch, he can make $300 in 10 minutes.
"It's basically easy money," Hunter said.
Hunter is not an anomaly on college campuses, nor is the presence of drug dealers on University Grounds. Nine of the 17 people arrested to date in the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force round up which began in early October were University students. Of the 33 people indicted prior to the sting, termed "Operation Spring Break Down," 15 were current University students and seven were former students.
In fact, major anti-drug efforts in Charlottesville and at the University have grabbed headlines throughout the past 12 years. In November 2000, 13 suspects were arrested in what was then the JADE task force's largest drug investigation. Three of those indicted then were current University students and six were former students.
In March 1991, raids on three fraternity houses resulted in the arrest of 12 students. During the operation, labeled "Operation Equinox," officers seized quantities of marijuana, ecstasy and LSD.
Drugs in University Housing fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Dean of Students and Residence Life. Resident advisors are encouraged to promote conversations about healthy living, which may relate to drug use, Asst. Dean of Students Jason Shaffer said.
"It's a concern, but it's not something that occurs frequently," Shaffer said.
Shaffer has served as assistant dean since the fall of 2002 and said during his tenure there have been no major problems with drugs.
Resident advisors are told to look for any significant changes in a resident's behavior and to call police if they suspect drug use. Staff members are instructed, though, not to immediately conclude that drug use is the cause of variations in behavior, as changes can be caused by other factors, such as an especially heavy course load or depression.
The October arrests have led to a heightened dialogue on Grounds, Shaffer said.
"We have capitalized on conversations those articles and arrests have sparked among students," he said.
However, Hunter said that he steers away from the "difficult" University crowd.
"U.Va. students don't have as much money as people think," Hunter said.
He began dealing in January of this year and quickly built his bankroll primarily by dealing to Charlottesville residents. Other dealers he knows, however, do target University students, but the higher risk of arrest from dealing with students deters him.
Instead, Hunter networked through friends and co-workers to gather clients in the city.
"Townies aren't as uptight," he added.
In the past 12 months, Hunter said he has made between $15,000 and $20,000 dealing cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana and mushrooms.
By June, Hunter was "up to pounds" of marijuana as demand in Charlottesville is relatively insatiable compared to other localities, where drugs are more available.
With a few phone calls, Hunter said he could sell a $3,600 pound of marijuana broken into four quarter-pounds, or QPs, for a total of $4,800. Cocaine has a profit margin upward of 80 percent.
In the wake of the October arrests, Hunter said he downsized his business, switched cellular phones and cut off some of his former client base. Previously, Hunter had dealt to as many as 20 clients. Now he limits his dealings to eight to 10 customers.
"Dealers aren't sketchy guys," Hunter said, adding,"don't get me wrong, some of them are," but most abide by established unspoken rules.
"People say drugs are immoral -- and they are -- but there still are morals within the system," Hunter said.
While he feels comfortable dealing with friends and those referred to him by friends, Hunter is not oblivious to the potential dangers resulting from his actions. He said he knew five of those arrested in Operation Spring Break Down.
In 2002, 25,484 narcotic drug arrests, including drug equipment arrests, were reported by other state agencies to the Virginia State Police, according to the 2002 Crime in Virginia Report. Also in 2002, 351 narcotics violations occurred in Charlottesville.
Acknowledging a violent side to the drug community, Hunter said his local cocaine dealer recently was shot at.
It is this type of violent activity that Hunter passes off as out of the ordinary in his dealings that rattles University officials.
"Situations vary, but most often the chief concern has to do with the dealer networks, which commonly use violence to collect debts or alleged debts, and which frequently turn out to have connections with criminal activity including intimidation [and] theft," University President John T. Casteen, III said.
Hunter said he has decided to take a less involved role in the Charlottesville drug culture.
Over the summer, dealing became a lifestyle for Hunter as he was constantly trying to unload his products and then "re-up." During this period, Hunter said he earned between $5,000 and $6,000, and he began using drugs himself.
Now he said he is leaving this life of continuously taking calls and is retreating into a position of supplying other smaller dealers. In feeding other dealers, he is able to get rid of his product "ten times faster" and deal with fewer people.
"If it's a lifestyle, people can see it very easily," Hunter said. "I would not have that on my back."
After all, besides dealing, Hunter contends he is just a normal college student.
Eventually, "I'd like to settle down and start a family," Hunter said. "I have normal aspirations."
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