QUESTION 28: CONGRESS MISUSES COLLEGE AID IN ITS DRUG WAR

When the 10 million American college students who annually seek federal
tuition aid or loans filled out this year's application, they came across a
brand-new question that apparently stumped -- or perhaps scared -- a good
number of them: "If you have never been convicted of any illegal drug
offense, enter '1' in the box and go to question 29. A drug-related
conviction does not necessarily make you ineligible for aid; call
1-800-433-3243 or go to www.fafsa.ed.gov/q28 to find out how to fill out
this question."

Of the hundreds of thousands of applications already processed this year by
the federal Education Department, 20 percent of applicants left the drug
question blank.

"Question 28" was added to the eight-page application at the behest of
Congress, which in 1998 quietly determined to withhold college aid,
beginning in the next school year, to students who have recently been
convicted in state or federal court of possessing or selling illegal drugs.
Federal college aid amounts to $52 billion annually and comes mostly in the
form of loans. Under the new rule, students can lose aid eligibility for
one year for a first conviction of drug possession, be it a felony or
misdemeanor; two years for a second conviction and indefinitely for a third
conviction. The aid penalties for drug-selling convictions are stiffer.

To lawmakers concerned about youth drug use, withholding college aid seemed
like a useful hammer. But college aid administrators worry, rightfully,
that question 28 could have the effect of shutting down higher education
and vocational opportunities for the very students -- poor, at risk of
choosing less constructive futures for themselves -- who most need it. Why
should a single cocaine or marijuana conviction narrow college doors for
poor students, when it has no such consequence for their more affluent peers?

Education Department officials don't believe the students who left the
question blank all have something to hide, rather that many were confused
by the wording or inadvertently forgot to answer. The department's attempt
to determine students' answers to question 28 have found fewer then 1
percent of applicants owning up to past drug convictions, a rate that
roughly matches the average for the U.S. population as a whole.

The proponent of the drug question, Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana, is now
calling for federal audits to make sure the question is answered
truthfully. But it would be far better not to ask it at all. If poor
students have been convicted of drug crimes, their punishment should come
through the justice system, not the college loan office.