DRUG CONVICTION? DON'T BOTHER APPLYING FOR AID

(U-WIRE) COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When students hear the phrase "war on drugs,"
they may think of large-scale narcotic sting operations or government
deterrence programs. What students may not realize is how the war on drugs
can single out first-time drug offenders and deny them the opportunity to
receive federal student aid for college.

This is exactly what the newest amendment to the more than 30-year-old
Higher Education Act does. The provision, which went into effect July 1 and
is sponsored by Congressman Mark Souder, R-Ind., prohibits the financial
aid applicant from being eligible for aid for one year from the date of a
drug conviction. A second conviction results in no aid for two years and a
third eliminates all chances for future aid. "Taxpayers have a right to
know that students who have a drug-abuse problem aren't using tax dollars
to go through school," Souder said in an October Rolling Stone interview.

Souder, author of the HEA, revised it in May so the law only affects
students who are already receiving financial aid. The act now reads that
students who have been convicted of a drug offense before applying for
financial aid will still be eligible for government aid. Students who have
been convicted of a drug offense while receiving financial aid will have
their assistance cut. This came when the House Education and Workforce
Committee was put under pressure by a nationwide student lobbyist group
entitled Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The group has 45 chapters at
universities across America; the only Ohio chapter is located at Ohio
University.

For a Better Ohio, a student organization started in 1995 at Ohio State by
Kenneth Schweickart, is lobbying OSU's USG with the goal of getting it to
sign on to the reform resolution. Nearly 25 universities have already
passed the resolution within their student governments.

Sean Luce, a sophomore in political science and vice president of For a
Better Ohio, is in charge of the group's endeavor with the USG. "The
resolution is basically calling on the federal government to repeal this
drug prohibition of financial aid. It puts a lot of pressure on the
legislators," Luce said. "The HEA has really lit a fire on college campuses
and galvanized the whole movement."

Russell Selkirk, an undecided sophomore, checked the "yes" box on question
28 of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which asks the
applicant if he or she has been convicted of a drug charge, and lost his
aid for a year.

"It's completely backwards," Selkirk said. "It's doing a lot more harm than
it is good. I don't see the reason why you'd want to take away somebody's
educational abilities because of a personal decision." Selkirk's parents
pay for his education, and he said they are the ones being punished, not
him. "Now my father has to work 60-hour workweeks because my sister's also
in school this year. It didn't act against me like a punishment should," he
said.

Selkirk also criticized the HEA of being a hypocritical law. "All these
people committing violent crimes can still receive their financial aid. You
can rape, you can murder, armed robbery -- you name it. There's no
questions about that on the Higher Education Act," he said.

For a Better Ohio, which plans to propose its reform resolution at next
week's USG Senate meeting, has supporters. One of these supporters is
Marquette James, an undergraduate north campus senator. James, who grew up
in a very low-income neighborhood, said she is most concerned with passing
the resolution because it affects many students of a lower socio-economic
status.

"It's obvious that African Americans will be involved more with drugs
because of their surroundings," James said. "A lot of my friends can't go
to school because they got busted with a joint or something." James also
pointed out that, "Technically anyone under the age of 21 who drinks is
using an illegal substance and can be punished under this law. But this is
never enforced. Typically European Americans are much more likely to drink
than African Americans. Are the lines racial?"

African Americans make up 12 percent of the nation's population and 13
percent of drug users, but comprise 55 percent of drug convictions,
according to the HEA campaign fact sheet.

Brian Horstman, the Ohio State University chapter president of For a Better
Ohio, said the HEA is punishing those who have already been punished by the
courts.

"Our system is supposed to be that people are given the opportunity to
learn from their mistakes, but in this instance people are actually being
denied the opportunity to learn because of their mistakes," Horstman said.