UNM's Students for Sensible Drug Policy is hosting a seminar today to teach students what to do in case of a police encounter.
The seminar will feature an informational film followed by a question-and-answer session with a criminal defense attorney.
Member Brad Opatz said the event will give students tips on how to stay out of trouble.
"Especially now with spring break coming up, (knowing your rights) and how to deal with police can be very helpful," he said.
The seminar will feature a screening of the film "Busted: A Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters" in SUB Lobo rooms A and B.
"What we are trying to do is educate the general public about their rights," said senior Win Hansen, co-sponsor of the seminar. "We are doing it so that people are not unfairly taken advantage of by law enforcement simply because they didn't know their rights as citizens."
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The film offers examples of the right and wrong ways to handle run-ins with the law and emphasizes how to courteously and confidently refuse police searches.
After the film, criminal defense attorney Rod Frechette will be available for questions.
Frechette, who has 21 years of legal experience, said he plans to walk students through many imaginable encounters with law enforcement and come up with sensible ways to deal with them.
The group sets up a table in Smith Plaza on Wednesday afternoons to raise awareness about unfair drug policies, Hansen said.
According to the group's Web site, drug arrests on college campuses increased by more than 25 percent between 1999 and 2003 while drug use rates among college students remained relatively constant in that period.
Since 1998, hundreds of thousands of students have been denied college financial aid because of drug convictions, according to the site.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy seminar
Today, 4-6 p.m.
SUB Lobo rooms A and B
