Students say God should be part of the War on Drugs

Thursday, I spent the evening at the University of Sioux Falls for a discussion on the war on drugs.

About 30 students showed up for the event put on by South Dakota Peace and Justice.

It began with a viewing of "The House I Live In" a documentary about America's criminal justice system and the implications of the U.S. drug policy.

The movie pointed out that the war on drugs and drug policy are not aimed solely at race, but at a lower class of people.

Tim Langley is one of South Dakota's federal public defenders, and he was the keynote speaker.

Langley told me many of the people he defends are among the working-class, with minimum wage jobs or sporadic employment.

"Race is a factor," he told me. "I deal with a pretty diverse group of defendants and clients, but it's actually more diverse than it should be in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls is 87 percent white. I have a lot of white clients, but they are not 87 percent white."

Here's what some students had to say about the film:

Christina Adams is youth ministry theology and music ministry student at the University of Sioux Falls.

At the end of the movie, one of the moderators asked 'Did you see Jesus in this film?'

The 20-year-old sadly replied she saw Jesus in small glimpses of hope from people hoping to bring change.

One day, she'll be a pastor. She hopes to bring awareness of all types of issues, even the drug-related ones, to her congregation.

"It's such an enormous problem and a lot more needs to happen," she told me. "I was shocked to hear it compared to the Holocaust."

Abby Lawson, 20, elementary education and special education, was shocked that no politician, no advocate, no one talked about religion or God when discussing the drug problem.

Lawson pointed out to me that on every dollar say 'In God We Trust', but no one seems to think about making God apart of the solution.

"We need to bring that to people and help them understand that maybe their hearts need something greater," Lawson told me.

Matt Christopherson is a January term transfer from Lutheran College in Decorah, Iowa.

The 20-year-old told me the film left an impression on him.

"I think I leave tonight knowing that there are different inequalities that we need to change in the United States," he told me.