College is a time that's considered by some to be the best years of your life, but not for one Trevecca Nazarene University freshmen who's said she's already having a hard time trying to fit in.
"I guess it's a good school. It's just because it's predominately white, I don't feel like I fit in," said Diamond Bell.
Trying to fit in became even harder when she started her freshmen year off being searched for marijuana.
Bell said she doesn't smoke marijuana, but on October 30, a Resident Assistant thought she was smoking marijuana with her roommate.
"There was a smell in our room but it wasn't marijuana, it was like a mildew smell because there was something wrong with our ventilation system," said Bell.
Diamond's mother, Tiffany Williamson, said she could understand how someone could confuse the two scents and thought it was just one big misunderstanding.
"They did have a ventilation problem. That had been going on a week before this happened. I had already smelled the smell and told her you need to call maintenance because it was a strong smell of mold," said Williamson.
But when that search for drugs turned up empty handed, the investigation didn't stop there. In fact, the mother and daughter were called in for a meeting with the dean.
"I thought that it was going to be resolved, that's why we were meeting with the dean, but I was mistaken. When we went into the meeting with the dean, the meeting was for her to request a drug test for Diamond," said Williamson.
The test came back negative for marijuana, and we're told the school refused to apologize.
Trevecca's policy has stated students can be drug tested if there is probable cause, but the mother and daughter argued since no drugs were found in her room, the dean singled the students out to take a drug test because of their race.
For now Diamond said it's okay if she doesn't fit in, as long as she standing out for something she believes in.
"I don't just want to keep my mouth shut because something bad is going to happen," said Bell.
Trevecca responded to our request for an interview with a statement:
"The search and test are standard University policy in situations where there is reasonable cause, and there is no indication of targeting in this incident. We take any reports of this type seriously with an expectation that all people on our campus will be treated with love and respect. We are fundamentally committed to ensuring that Trevecca is a safe place for all students and desire that no student feels targeted for any reason. Administration officials are doing a full investigation of this matter and will take steps to ensure that all students are treated with respect and sensitivity."
To read a copy of Trevecca's policies in question in this situation, click here.
