PROTESTERS FIGHT DRUG CONVICTIONS

Two students at Chico State have been kept from receiving financial aid in
past school year

Students with marijuana convictions seeking federal help for college have
to give up the weed or smoke out other financial aid options outside of the
government.

But a Washington D.C. lobby group has sparked up a congressional effort to
end the federal policy of delaying or denying federal financial aid to pot
smokers.

Thousands of students from approximately 100 colleges and universities
across the country participated in what the lobby group called a "Day of
Action," on Thursday. The Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform is
campaigning to remove question 35 from the federal financial aid
application, which asks students if they have been convicted of possessing
or selling illegal drugs.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced House Resolution 685 in February to
repeal the Higher Education Act drug provision. The bill currently has 54
co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since May 2001, two identical resolutions and an amendment were introduced
in the House, but all failed to pass in committee votes. If Frank's
resolution were to make it to an entire House vote, Rep. Wally Herger,
R-Calif. wouldn't vote for it. Herger represents California's second
congressional district, which includes Chico.

Herger's Press Secretary Daniel MacLean said Herger would not vote for a
bill encouraging drug use.

"Congressman Herger would not support a legislation that would federally
fund drug users," MacLean said.

Roland Lamarine, a Chico State University professor, doesn't have a problem
with funding a student with a minor drug offense. But he doesn't think it's
right to give money to a student who has been convicted of selling drugs.

"People selling drugs are in a different league," Lamarine said. "I
consider those serious drug convictions."

Lamarine has done extensive research on drug addiction. He said the policy
needs to specify the different types of drug convictions.

A Chico State financial aid official agrees and said removing the drug
provision won't encourage further drug use, but would stop it from continuing.

Financial Aid Office Associate Director Daniel Reed said all the drug
provision does is keep students from getting a college education.

"If we educate people, we'll have less people possessing or selling drugs,"
Reed said. "If every student who has ever possessed marijuana were
convicted right now, enrollment would drop considerably."

He said the drug provision is flawed because it lumps marijuana with drugs
like heroin and cocaine. Reed said the financial aid policy targets minor
drug offenders and never mentions other serious crimes.

"I would rather fund a stoner than fund a rapist," Reed said. "If you're
convicted of child molestation last year, you're eligible (for financial aid)."

However wrong he thinks the drug provision might be, Reed said it doesn't
affect many students applying for financial aid at Chico State. During the
2002/2003 application period, two students' drug convictions delayed their
eligibility for financial aid at Chico State. Both students chose not to
continue the application process, according to Financial Aid Office records.

In the same year, 45 students had past drug convictions that required them
to wait for one year and go through a drug rehab program before being
eligible for financial aid.

But students could avoid the entire issue by lying on the application.

Reed said although the U.S. Department of Education will check a student's
citizen status and other information given on the application, he said the
department does not check up on drug convictions because there isn't a
national database that allows them to, yet.

According to the Coalition for HEA Reform, the drug provision has denied
need-based financial aid for college to nearly 100,000 students, since it
was added to the federal policy in 1998.

Coalition Spokesperson Adam Eldinger said the HEA is a great law that
provides many students with the college help they need, but it needs to be
fixed.

"Education is the best anti-drug," Eldinger said. "Kicking them out of
school isn't going to make it better."

The group says the provision is flawed because it negatively affects
students with minor drug convictions such as possession of a single
marijuana cigarette.

Eldinger has been working for this lobby group for the past two years. He
said most students they talk to don't know about the drug provision until
it's too late.

"This drug provision is having a chilling affect on student enrollment,"
Eldinger said.

Thousands of college students participated in protests against the drug
provision last week, including a large protest at the University of
California, Berkley campus. Eldinger said Frank's resolution isn't ready
for a committee vote, because it doesn't have enough co-sponsors.

Eldinger said he is not optimistic the resolution will pass in a Republican
controlled congress, but they will continue to fight for it.

"We're not talking about big-time drug dealers on campus who are using
financial aid to fund drug operations," Eldinger said. "We're talking about
pot."