BILL BEFORE ASUC HELPS STUDENTS DENIED AID

Sponsors Hope to Ease Education for Those Rejected for Federal Aid
After Drug Conviction

In a move that some say will improve educational accessibility, the
ASUC Senate will consider a bill tonight granting scholarships to
students previously denied financial aid due to a drug conviction.

The bill, authored by SQUELCH! Senator David Wasserman and sponsored
by nine other senators, proposes to create the ASUC Removing
Impediments to Students' Education scholarship, which will grant
$400 per scholarship to students who are ineligible for financial aid
due to a drug conviction.

The scholarship, which could go into effect within the coming weeks if
passed, would be available to all UC Berkeley and UC Berkeley
Extension students denied financial aid due to a drug conviction. The
grant requires that students have a 2.5 GPA and commit to 20 hours of
community service.

The scholarship application also asks that students write a personal
statement, which will be evaluated by a selections committee composed
of four ASUC senators and the academic affairs vice president.
Recipients must also donate to the scholarship program once
financially able.

According to Wasserman, 31,000 students are left without financial aid
in California because having a drug conviction is the only instance in
which students are automatically barred from receiving financial aid.

(Education) is a means to success, it's a means to a future,
it's a means to a goal in life. Denying that is truly not fair,
said Berkeley College Republicans Senator Victoria Mitchell.

The 1965 Higher Education Act was passed to increase access to higher
education through federal loans and grants, but the Aid Eliminaton
Provision passed in 1998 denied applicants financial aid for one year
if charged with drug possession and two years if charged with a drug
sale, Wasserman said.

But many senators said the provision only makes the problem
worse.

(The provision) is a poor way to fight the war on drugs. It's not
right for the federal government to find the means to deprive
(students with a drug conviction) of an education, Wasserman said.

While some senators had initial reservations about the bill, many now
said they see the bill's merit.

There was concern (among some senators) that the bill might
encourage drug use, said CalSERVE Senator Taylor Allbright. But
it encourages education. It encourages people who may have had
difficulties to pick a better future through education.

The bill also states that the ASUC Senate will author a letter
detailing their concerns to Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush in the hopes of repealing
the Aid Elimination Provision.

UC Berkeley is a beacon in the education community, Mitchell
said. Legislators pay attention to what happens. We are
spearheading a movement.