DRUGGING EDUCATION

A 1998 law created by Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) to amend the Higher
Education Act of 1965 strips students convicted of selling or using drugs
of their federal financial aid. During the 2000-01 academic year alone,
more than 47,000 applicants for federal financial aid were stripped of some
or all of their assistance because of past drug convictions. Even Souder is
pushing to change the 1998 law. It is time to rethink the negative effects
of denying people the best weapon for fighting poverty -- education.

In its present form, the law discourages people convicted of drug charges
from resurrecting their lives. In many cases, the former drug users have
paid their debts to society. Therefore, it would seem counterproductive to
halt people from moving beyond their past and getting an education.
Disallowing the pursuit of higher education by restricting funds only gives
drug offenders an incentive to go back to using or dealing.

Various funds have been created to supplement aid lost by the law. For
example, the John W. Perry Fund was established two weeks ago in New York
to assist students for just this reason. Perry, a New York City police
officer killed on Sept. 11, was a staunch critic against the nation's war
on drugs, calling the war unfair.

In addition to GW's Student Association, student governments at Yale
University, Northwestern University and American University have all passed
resolutions saying they were opposed to the 1998 law. Some colleges have
taken their opposition one step further. For instance, Swarthmore College
in Pennsylvania decided in March to make up the difference for its students
who have lost aid money because of the law.

A proposed change to Souder's law would make it so aid is taken away from
drug offenders only if that drug violation occurs while enrolled. Although
this is an improvement, it does not solve the inherent problem that
students are being punished for drug offenses by having their chance at an
education stripped.

It is time to give people who could not afford to pay tuition a shot at
tuning their lives around. Human beings are far from perfect. Common sense
policy, not draconian measures, should the guiding force in solving this
problem. The U.S. government should take its war on drugs away from the
academic arena.