MONEY, MARIJUANA SPARK IUSA DEBATE

Money and marijuana were the main issues discussed Thursday as the
IUSA congress' business included hearing guest speakers affiliated
with the Citizens Alliance for the Legalization of Marijuana (CALM).

CALM financial coordinator Jen Weiss trumpeted the legalization of
industrial hemp as a viable source of paper and other products, and
said the United States should follow the lead of other nations such as
Canada and Germany and legalize the use of hemp.

"(There's a) negative PR campaign that we're all victims of today,"
Weiss said. "The fact is, the rest of the world has taken off with
industrial hemp, and the United States is in a cloud of ignorance."

The IUSA congress agreed, passing the resolution to "recommend support
of the elimination of Federal Laws that prohibit the growing of
industrial hemp to Indiana's congressional Representatives" by a vote
of 39 for, five against, and no abstentions.

CALM President and founder Mike Truelove was in attendance at the
meeting, and said he was happy to see the support his group received
in congress.

"I was particularly satisfied with the industrial hemp resolution, how
easily it passed," Truelove said. "Some of the senators' knowledge on
the topic was quite impressive."

The meeting also featured some unanimous votes approving budgets for
different departments in IUSA, including the budgets for the Assisted
Interorganizational Development (AID) Department and the Faculty
Course Evaluation (FCE) Department. But the main issues on the minds
of the congress for most of the evening were the marijuana
resolutions.

A resolution recommending Indiana's congressional Representatives
support medicinal use of marijuana was tabled to allow the members of
congress to discuss the issue with their constituents on and off
campus. Truelove said there is student support, noting that CALM
collected more than 1,000 student signatures on a petition supporting
medicinal marijuana.

IUSA President Pro-Tempore Sara LaBuda, a junior, repeatedly stressed
that it is paramount for members to discuss these issues with their
constituents. LaBuda was a member of congress when a proposal came up
calling for unilateral student fees so every student could get a free
bus pass. She saw that many senators had not discussed the plan with
the students before voting.

"That was a resolution where people should have voted on how their
constituents felt," LaBuda said. "We have resolutions in front of us
that have a lot to do with marijuana, and I have a personal feeling
that a lot of people in congress voted on the way they feel. That's
really upsetting when congresspeople don't vote the way their
constituents want them to vote."

The other marijuana-related resolution was in support of the repeal of
a provision of the Higher Education Act of 1998 that prohibits a
person convicted of drug offenses from receiving student aid for college.

Off-campus senator Ryan Paschal, a senior, weighed in against the
resolution, calling it an issue of "right and wrong."

"I'm all for free will, (and) people can do what they want, but if you
want to take advantage of a privilege such as the (student) loans, and
you know that this law could possibly stop you from getting those
loans, don't do it," Paschal said. "I'm all for hemp as an industrial
plant, (and) I've used hemp goods. But when it comes down to
recreational drugs, I'm completely against that; I'm completely
against breaking the law."

But Truelove said taking away college aid for recreational drug use is
a mistake.

"Too often, we get into this mindset of punishing people, and in the
end we're just punishing ourselves, because these people fall through
the cracks who can't get an education. They're the ones we're going to
have to support the rest of our lives with welfare or some other
support," Truelove said.

"I'm of the opinion that anytime you can educate someone, that's a
plus. Personally, my own feeling on education and loans, (is) I think
the government should pay for everybody's education (and) we shouldn't
be required to get loans and so forth."

The resolution passed 27-14-1. Among the sponsors of the resolution
was IUSA President La'Maze Johnson, who said he has been a member of
CALM for about a year, and who supported similar legislation in front
of congress before as a student-at-large.

"I put my name on it because I believe in the philosophy of it, (and)
the mission statement of the organization, being a member; that's the
reason that my name was on the bill," Johnson said. "I believe that
(the CALM) organization is a justifiable one in the fact that we have
so many students who are interested, and who are members of this
group. It's one of the largest student groups on campus."

Johnson, who was silent during the debates on the marijuana
resolutions, said he does not want to sway any votes in congress. He
agrees with LaBuda's statement that members of congress should talk to
their constituents before voting on issues.

"I try to stress that that was my personal opinion on the issue,"
Johnson said. "I would prefer that (senators) do their job and go out
and canvas the students for an opinion."