A CRIME IS A CRIME

AMES, Iowa -- The U.S. Senate may have thought they were doing the right
thing when it overwhelmingly passed the Higher Education Act of 1998, but
it failed in its attempt to fairly punish wrong-doers on campus.

A provision to the bill, which was passed 96-0, says that students caught
with illegal drugs will lose their financial aid eligibility for a certain
interval, depending on the severity of the crime.

Students who are not habitual drug users or those who may be just
experimenting with marijuana will lose their eligibility, while someone who
is a repeat alcohol offender can still get the loans and grants to keep
them in school.

The question is, why punish those students who harm no one but themselves
with marijuana, but not students who are alcoholics who put people's lives
at risk when they get behind the wheel?

The legislation is too narrow and fails to punish everyone equally who
deserve to be punished.

Someone in possession of a little marijuana and someone in possession of
cocaine or heroin will both face the same punishment.

All the while, thiefs, drunk drivers and other petty criminals fail to
receive any punishment for actions just as dangerous, if not more.

If threatening a student with jail time for using illegal drugs fails to
deter drug use, why will the chance of losing federal aid eligibility do
anything to stop people from using drugs?

The legislation is not sufficient in accomplishing what politicians tried
to do.

Equally illegal crimes should be subject to similar punishments.