PAST DRUG OFFENDERS MAY GET FINANCIAL AID

A bill allowing students with prior drug convictions to receive
financial aid has been passed in Congress and is awaiting President
Bush's signature.

The bill was changed from a resolution passed in 2000 that denied
access to college financial aid opportunities to students with past
drug convictions.

The changes Congress is passing will give people with a history of
drug convictions a chance to start over, said Joseph Pettibon,
interim assistant provost for financial aid at Texas A&M.

"It's basically giving the students an option to rehabilitate their
lives," Pettibon said. "It's no longer penalizing them in the future
for something they did in the past."

Pettibon said the new bill may affect a handful of students at A&M,
but that he has not seen a problem with drug convictions interfering
with financial aid at the University.

Some students, however, may answer drug-related questions incorrectly
on financial aid applications or may leave the questions blank for
privacy reasons, he said.

The policy should be in effect beginning with the Fall 2006 semester,
and students who were denied financial aid before the bill was
created will not be reimbursed, Pettibon said.

Since the first provision was passed, more than 250 organizations
have joined under the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform
(CHEAR) to urge Congress to repeal the restrictions, said Tom Angell,
campaigns director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).

Even with the changes, CHEAR is concerned about the students being
denied financial aid because of drug convictions received during
college, Angell said.

"The fundamental problems of the law are still not being addressed,"
Angell said. "It still doesn't make sense to block access to
financial aid to any students with drug convictions."

About 175,000 students nationwide have been affected by the HEA
provisions, Angell said. The number, however, is probably higher
because many students with drug convictions will not apply for
financial aid for fear of rejection.

Annie Davis, a freshman biomedical science and entomology major, said
she feels drug convictions should only be a factor if the offenses
are repeated.

Her opinion was influenced by a friend who got into trouble for
marijuana and needed financial aid to go to college, she said.

Her friend was given a second chance and was offered financial aid by
a private university in California. She is now drug-free, her grades
have improved and she plans to attend college next semester, Davis said.

"I think before I was much more judgmental of anyone who did drugs,"
Davis said. "Now I realize they're not all bad people, just good
people who made a mistake."

Davis said she supports the bill to penalize only those students
convicted of drugs during their time in college, but that she does
not agree with the efforts to completely eliminate the issue of drug
convictions when it comes to financial aid.

"I don't think drug convictions should be overlooked altogether," she
said. "That would be taking advantage of the system."