DRUG OFFENSE COULD QUASH COLLEGE AID

(Flint) - Thomas Allen fears that his chance to go to college could be
dashed with the answer to one question on a financial aid form: "have
you ever been convicted of an illegal drug offense?" Allen, who has
two drug convictions, would have to answer yes, and that means he
could be denied federal financial aid.

"I do want to go to college," said Allen, 20. "and I don't have any
income. I wanted to get my (General Equivalency Degree) and then go on
to college to get a better job. Now I don't think I'll be able to
receive any type of grant. And I don't have the income otherwise."

Allen, convicted in 1997 and 1998 for possession of marijuana and
cocaine respectively, blames the mistakes on his youth.

But under a new federal law effective in July, anyone convicted once
of possession of illegal drugs cannot get aid for one year; a sales
conviction blocks aid for two years. Students convicted twice of
possessing illegal drugs lose aid for two years. On a third
conviction, the student loses all eligibility for aid. Students twice
convicted of selling drugs can lose aid permanently.

Students affected by the law can regain eligibility by completing a
drug rehabilitation program.

Although the law isn't effective for a few months, students filling
out financial aid forms now must answer the question.

Allen, who is working toward his GED - the equivalent of a high school
diploma - at New Paths Inc. in Flint, is eligible for aid because his
last conviction was two years ago.

Legislators say the law is designed to cut waste from the student loan
system.

Judy Tanner, executive director at New Paths, where Allen is a
resident, supports the intent of the law. New Paths is a residential
probation program that serves as an alternative for prison- and
jail-bound adult males who have committed nonviolent offenses.

"The new law appears to be balanced in that it attaches a consequence
and a waiting period for federal student aid for those students who
violate our drug laws, but allows them to regain eligibility status
through counseling and adherence to law," Tanner said. "many young
people make mistakes and it is rewarding to see that the law holds
them responsible for their actions, but gives them the opportunity to
learn from their mistakes."

Others argue the law adds more confusion to an already puzzling
document - and it might hold up applications of students who have no
drug convictions but misunderstand the question.

"The new question is a problem because it requires us to do follow-up
with students who don't know how to answer the question on the
financial aid application," said Carlos Cisneros, financial aid
director at Mott Community College. "once again we have a situation
whereby we are required to collect some additional information. Some
students leave the questions blank and then there is follow-up
required. To me, it's just another intrusional piece of information
that the student has to complete."

Twenty percent of the applications submitted so far have
errors.

Students unsure of how to answer the question are instructed to call
an 800 number or visit a web site with a two-paragraph explanation of
the law.

"There's not enough clarity in the policy and there are few words on
the web site (to help)," said Mark Delorey, director of financial aid
at University of Michigan-Flint.

This isn't the federal government's first attempt at singling out drug
offenses.

A 1988 anti-drug abuse act that required students to sign a pledge
that they wouldn't use drugs was found to be unenforceable.

College officials say the new law will be just as difficult to
prove.

"It isn't like checking citizenship or draft registration," Delorey
said. "There is no single database to verify whether a person answers
this truthfully. I know of no way we could detect if someone lied and
that concerns me."

Cisneros said there is no fallout in response to the new law at MCC
yet, but he expects it down the road.

"There's going to be some kids who refuse to answer that question," he
said. "that will reject the application and trigger an investigation.
We will have to do the verification. We're going to have to clean up
this mess."

While not condoning the use of illegal drugs, college officials
questioned why other, more serious convictions wouldn't affect
financial aid.

"We're treating someone with a drug offense totally different than
someone convicted of another felony," Cisneros said. "If you were a
rapist and went to jail, did your time and got out, you're not
required to fill out a form."