SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM IS ONE WAY AROUND LAW

GOSHEN, Ind. - Decrying government policy in the hope of repeal is common.
Less so is taking the initiative to work outside the system, and detractors
of a federal student aid guideline are doing just that.

The law . . . is designed to keep federal aid dollars out of the hands of
college students who have criminal drug records. On the federal student aid
application, fund-seekers are asked if they've ever been convicted of
possessing or selling illegal drugs.

For those answering "yes," one possession conviction renders students
unable to receive aid for a year after conviction. For a second possession
or first drug-sale conviction, the funding ineligibility is two years. . .
. A network of groups pushing for drug law reform launched a scholarship
program for students turned down because of their criminal drug records.
The John W. Perry Fund scholarships are named for a New York cop who died
in the World Trade Center attacks last fall. Perry was a staunch critic of
the war on drugs.

Higher education is a window of opportunity, one the existing drug law
unfairly shuts. The current provisions need to be changed or thrown out
altogether. Until that happens, hats off to the people who didn't want to wait.