DRUGS AND STUDENT AID

The student government at N.C. State University has passed a
resolution calling on Congress to overturn a law that it says has
stripped financial aid from nearly 200,000 college students with drug
convictions, including more than 5,300 in North Carolina.

The penalty is the result of an amendment attached to the Higher
Education Act in 1998.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and Rep. Virginia Foxx, both Republicans, and
other members the Senate and House education committees are
considering repealing the aid ban as part of this year's
reauthorization of the act.

"It makes no sense to block access to education to students with
minor drug convictions," said a statement by Matthew Potter, student
senator and president of NCSU Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
"This law places a counterproductive roadblock on the path to success
for low- and middle-income students who have made mistakes but are
trying to turn their lives around. Kicking students out of school
causes more drug abuse, not less."