'WAR ON DRUGS' COSTING STUDENTS

A class action lawsuit has been filed challenging the
constitutionality of a federal law that automatically strips students
of financial aid due to a drug conviction.

Because nearly 200,000 students have lost financial aid opportunities
under the law, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy and the American
Civil Liberties Union are fighting the law.

"Generally speaking, the war on drugs has failed," said SSDP
Campaigns Director Tom Angell. "Right now there is far too much
emphasis on punishment and prison."

He said that taking such strong stands against drug use hurts
students in the long run. The focus should be on educating students
about the risks of drugs.

"The more we spend on police and punishment, the less we have to
spend on education," Angell said. "Kicking them out of school just
makes it worse."

While drug convictions take money from students, Angell stressed the
safety of students as being a priority as well. He said Good
Samaritan laws are a positive. For instance, if a student is
overdosing on a drug, his or her friends should be able to call for
medical help without feeling like they will get in trouble.

"I've seen too many of my friends get arrested and have to spend the
night in jail," Angell said. "These policies directly target students
and young people, and we help them fight back."

At Western Michigan University the rules involving drug use are laid
out in the school's student code.

Any student using, possessing, exchanging, manufacturing or
distributing marijuana or other illegal substances are subject to
university sanctions, according to WMU's Student Code.

April Kooiman of the Office of Student Conduct said that Western
Michigan University policies are designed to help, not hurt, students.

"Our process is really educational in nature," Kooiman said. "So my
primary objective is the safety of the students themselves, and the community."

She also said that WMU has policies, but each case is different, and
the action the university takes is different.

"We make case by case decisions," Kooiman said. "Our office tries to
be preventative in nature, although we have to be proactive as well."

Kooiman said sometimes decisions have to be made to protect the
safety of the community as a whole. There are several things that can
be done to help students with their problems, Kooiman said.
Programming classes, substance abuse assessments, counseling and
community service are all options.

Community service is common when students' alcohol or drug abuse
leads to other destructive behavior, Kooiman said.

Angell says that Drive Safe Kalamazoo is a helpful group and says
more universities should adopt a similar program. DSK has operated at
WMU since September, 2003.

"There are some particular drug policies to implement, and some
universities do have them," Angell said. "Those policies save students' lives."

The WMU Student Code says students are subject to sanctions for
alcohol use or possession if under age, public intoxication and
distribution of alcoholic beverages except as permitted by law and
university regulations.

"The vast majority of our cases are alcohol, or have some kind of
alcohol component to them," Kooiman said. However, the situation may
not be as simple as the student simply drinking too much and behaving
inappropriately.

"What we see may have a lot of external factors," Kooiman said. For
instance, the student might have had a bad day, or there might be an
ongoing problem the student needs help with.

WMU's policies on drug and alcohol use usually applies to the
university and the area directly around it.

"However, we will expand our jurisdiction as we see necessary,"
Kooiman said. The policies are for the safety of students and
promotion of the university's objectives.

SSDP is hosting an international conference in Washington D.C. Nov.
17-19. Hundreds of students are expected to attend to learn, lobby
and network, according to an SSDP press release.

For more information on SSDP, access their Web site at
www.studentsnotprisons.com.