HIGHER EDUCATION ACT UNDER SCRUTINY

No matter what the outcome of the Nov. 2 presidential election will be, the
controversial provision in the Higher Education Act, which denies financial
aid to students with drug convictions, will be changed in some way.

Presidential candidates George W. Bush, John Kerry and Ralph Nader released
position statements in opposition to the 1998 provision, which has allowed
for the loss of financial aid for more than 157,000 students nationwide.

According to Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), a non-partisan group
based in Washington D.C. which has campaigned for a repeal of the provision
for six years, the candidates' statements are the result of a questionnaire
compiled by the New Voters Project (www.newvotersproject.org).

The New Voters Project is a young voter registration campaign sponsored by
state Public Interest Research Groups around the country. The questionnaire
is part of an online survey of 12 questions submitted by young voters. The
financial aid question pertaining to the provision in the Higher Education
Act was posted by a member of SSDP.

The provision is an issue among young voters in the upcoming election,
according to Josh Litwin, a 3rd-semester political science major and
UConnPIRG staff member.

"All the candidates are concerned about it," he said. "It is a huge issue
if you are a student convicted of a drug crime and can't get financial aid."

Litwin said the candidates' responses show how students can influence
politicians if they are seen as voters.

"The only way students are going to influence politicians and make them pay
attention to our issues are by voting in this election and elections in the
future," he said. "Voters should choose the candidate who will change the
act if they want them to and hopefully change it for the better if that's
what they are concerned about."

The candidates and students alike are against the provision. Many feel
education is the best way for students to overcome their past and change
their lives for the better.

"Education is perhaps the best way for someone who has been involved with
drugs or crime to turn their life around," Kerry said. "If a young person
has overcome past obstacles and is ready to go to college, I don't think
that a nonviolent drug conviction in their past should prevent them form
doing so. And the reality is that preventing them from obtaining federal
loans means they won't be able to afford to go to college."

Bush called for a partial reform of the provision so students entering
college with a drug conviction could still obtain federal financial aid.

"My 2005 Budget proposes to fix the drug provision of the Higher Education
Act so that incoming students who have a prior drug-related conviction
would be able to receive Federal student aid, and only students convicted
while in college would lose their eligibility for student aid," he said,
according to the New Voter's Project web site.

The provision should be entirely repealed as it relates to nonviolent
offenders, Independent candidate Ralph Nader said on the New Voter's
Project website.

"Repeal the Higher Education Act drug provision as it applies to
non-violent offenders," he said. "The drug war has failed. We spend nearly
$50 billion annually on the drug war and problems related to drug abuse
continue to worsen."

UConn students agree with the candidates' positions on some level and feel
the provision only hurts these offenders instead of helping them.

Drug policies and financial aid should be two separate issues, Jason
Cabral, a 3rd-semester meteorology major said.

"I think there should be stricter substance abuse policies, but to lose
financial aid is a separate issue," he said. "I agree with the intention of
it, but I disagree with what it is doing to people's education. Education
in the long run will probably help people."

"I agree with the candidates' stances," said Tyler Longland, a 3rd-semester
history and political science major. "Everyone makes mistakes and to take
their opportunity away is un-American."

However, some feel students should lose their financial aid based on how
serious the drug offense is and the circumstances surrounding their conviction.

"If a student is receiving financial aid to go to college and they are
caught dealing drugs they should lose their financial aid," said Steve
Conley, a 7th-semester sociology major. "But there is a difference between
someone smoking pot and someone snorting coke."