STUDENT-AID DRUG RULES DEBATED

Students and college officials say a law that denies federal financial aid
to some students with drug convictions is unfair.

A question on the application for federal financial aid programs asks
whether students have been convicted of a drug crime. If students answer
yes, some are denied aid for the school year.

Aid can be denied to students with drug convictions according to the 1998
Higher Education Act, although the part of the act that allows the denials
had not been enforced until this year.

More than 84,000 students indicated on the form this year that they had a
conviction. More than 7,000 were denied federal financial aid.

Supporters say the law was intended to curb drug use by young people.
Students and school officials say the law is flawed because it does not
deny aid to people who commit more serious crimes.

"You can be a convicted murderer and get financial aid, but you can't get
caught smoking a joint," said Bruce Blackmon, financial aid director at the
University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Seth Becker, press secretary for the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mark Souder, said
enforcement is not working as Souder expected. Souder is an Indiana
Republican. Becker said the law was intended to apply to students convicted
of drug use while receiving aid, not those with a prior conviction.

The law says aid shall be denied to "a student who has been convicted " of
a drug crime, leaving lawyers to interpret that as a prior conviction.

U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman Jane Glickman said the
administration is working with legislators on the intent of the law and
stressed that some applicants with drug convictions are still eligible for
aid depending on the severity of the offense and the amount of time that
has passed since the conviction.

Glickman said the legislative branch sets the eligibility criteria, not the
Department of Education. She said students who are denied federal aid would
still be eligible for state and school aid. The law only applies to federal
aid programs, such as Stafford loans, work-study and federal grants.

About 39 percent of college students get some form of federal financial aid
in either the form of grants or low-interest loans. In the 1999-2000 school
year, students nationwide received $60 billion in federal financial aid,
according to National Association of Student Financial Aid administrators.

Melissa Wheeler, a senior at Campbell University, said she does not
advocate the use of illegal drugs, but the law is biased and an invasion of
privacy.

"It's a stupid law and it's not helping anybody. It's all about
punishment," Wheeler said. "They should at least give them a second chance
before taking it away. Everybody deserves a second chance."

Campbell's financial aid director, Peggy Mason, said a few Campbell
students indicated they had drug-related convictions on federal aid
applications, but none were denied financial aid.

She said once students are notified that their financial aid is in
jeopardy, they are told to fill out a worksheet that determines their
eligibility.

The worksheet asks for the date of the conviction, whether the student had
more than two convictions and whether an acceptable drug rehabilitation
program was completed. A student can still be eligible once he completes a
drug rehabilitation program.

Fayetteville State University senior William Wesley said the law means that
students who made mistakes, but have turned their lives around will be
turned away from pursuing higher education.

"They will end up putting more kids back on the streets looking for a way
to make money," Wesley said. "There needs to be some light shed on that."

Lois McKoy, FSU's financial aid director, said students are concerned about
the law, but no one has registered a complaint.

"I feel that this should not be an area that we should monitor and police,"
McKoy said. "We're here to make sure the students who are eligible receive
the help that they need."

Souder is talking with the Bush administration about clarifying the law in
time for the 2002-03 school year.