US CA: STUDENTS WHO LOST FEDERAL AID BECAUSE OF DRUG CONVICTIONS CAN
STILL GET HELP FROM UC

The student government of the University of California-Berkeley will
offer scholarships to students who have lost federal financial aid
because of a drug conviction.

Although similar aid has been offered by a handful of private
colleges, this is the first time that students at a public university
have taken a stand against Question 31 on the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid, which asks, "Have you ever been convicted of
possessing or selling illegal drugs?"

The scholarship - a one-time payment of $400 to an affected student -
was conceived by student senator David Israel Wasserman. The vote of
support took place last month.

The money will be paid out of the annual budget of the Associated
Students of the University of California, the only completely
autonomous university student government in the United States.

The recipient must maintain a 2.5 grade-point average, perform 20
hours of community service and have the "moral obligation" to
contribute to the scholarship program after graduation. It can be
spent only on college-related expenses.

Since passage of a 2000 federal anti-drug law, an estimated 190,000
students have been deemed ineligible because they admitted to a
conviction or refused to provide the information on aid applications,
according to the U.S. Department of Education.

It is unknown how many of UC-Berkeley's 30,000 students will benefit
from the new scholarship.