PROTEST TO REED ABOUT DRUG REGULATIONS

To the Cigar,

Did you know that students with drug convictions - including
possession of small amounts of marijuana - are automatically stripped
of their financial aid while murderers and rapists are perfectly
eligible to get government loans and grants? If you're as outraged as
I am over this harmful and unfair penalty that has already affected
200,000 students, you'll be glad to learn that Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
is currently in a key position to do something about it.

Senator Reed and other members of the Senate committee that handles
higher education are debating what to do about the aid elimination
penalty this week. If you agree that kicking students out of school
causes more - not fewer - drug problems, why not take two minutes
today to tell Senator Reed how you feel?

All you have to do is call Senator Reed's office at (202) 224-4642
and politely tell the staffer who answers the phone that as a
constituent you want the senator to overturn the student aid drug
penalty because it causes more drug abuse.

And when you're done with that, you can follow up by sending a
prewritten letter to your legislators by visiting
http://www.schoolsnotprisons.com/help/ and entering your contact
information. As students, this policy is directed at us and our
peers. If we don't ask our legislators to do the right thing, who will?

Noel Marandola

SSDP