DRUG OFFENDERS OUT FINANCIAL AID

A ban created by the Higher Education Act refuses Financial Aid to drug
offenders applying for college, according to The Post at Ohio University.

Since 1998, 175,000 applicants have been denied Financial Aid in the U.S.
based on drug convictions.

The Students for Sensible Drug Policy are against this provision.

Director Tom Angell said the ban is detrimental to the economy. It keeps
many talented students out of college because of their drug-related pasts.

Drug offenders also lack the benefits of food stamps, federally assisted
housing grants and money from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Facebook damages interpersonal skills

The Web site Facebook.com may create problems with college students'
interpersonal relationships, author Michael Bugeja said, according to the
Iowa State Daily.

At Iowa State University, 19,495 students use Facebook to connect with friends.

While college students usually interact in person, this method of Internet
communication is replacing social interaction, said Bugeja, who wrote
"Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in a Technological Age."

It also compromises personal details that might later be regretted, said
Jay Newell, assistant professor at the Greenlee School.

The Web site is also dangerous to the marketing world, Newell said.
Students are able to advertise and market their own ideas to a vast
audience, but advertisers have to pay to do the same thing.

Bugeja and Newell are both against Facebook. They have accounts but are
inactive members.

Profs: Katrina won't hurt economy

Faculty and community members assessed the economic damage of Hurricane
Katrina on Friday at the Haas School of Business, according to UC
Berkeley's The Daily Californian.

Professor Severin Borenstein said gas prices will decrease. However, the
price of oil will still keep the cost of energy high, and this may affect
the economy in the long run.

The federal government may suffer economically, said business Professor
James Wilcox. With Congress approving $60 billion in aid to Louisiana, and
Louisiana senators requesting $250 billion to rebuild, the federal deficit
may increase to about $180 billion.