ELIMINATING STUDENT AID HARSH PENALTY FOR DRUG USE

Editor,

Has the war on drugs become a war on education?

In January 2005, law enforcement officers found a very small amount
of marijuana inside a house I was sharing with two other students. A
direct consequence of my pleading guilty to possession was that I
immediately became ineligible to receive financial aid to help pay
for my tuition at Northern State University in South Dakota.

Since Congress enacted this student aid elimination penalty in 1998,
nearly 200,000 other students around the country have also suffered
its effects. In New Mexico alone, 1,046 students have had their
access to education aid blocked because of it.

While some students are able to stay in school by dropping classes
and working extra hours to help cover tuition, tens of thousands of
others aren't as lucky. Upon having their aid stripped, they're
forced to drop out of school immediately. Many never return to finish
their degrees.

I can't imagine how slamming the doors of education in young people's
faces is supposed to be the cure for our nation's drug problems. In
actuality, forcing students to drop out of college because of a minor
drug conviction only makes it much more likely that they'll go on to
have serious drug problems or commit other crimes. Instead, we should
recognize that keeping determined and ambitious young people in
college and on the path to success is best for students and society as a whole.

You might be asking yourself, "Why should we waste taxpayer money on
drug-using losers?" But because students are required to be in good
academic standing to continue receiving aid, the penalty hurts only
those who are doing well in their classes and who are likely to be
good investments of aid resources.

Perhaps one of the most perverse aspects of the student aid
elimination penalty is that it affects only people with drug
convictions; rapists and murderers are able to continue receiving
federal loans and grants to attend classes on your campus.

Thankfully, the new Congress is set to revise laws dealing with
higher education and student aid this year, and leaders could take
the opportunity to open the doors of education to individuals seeking
to improve their lives after drug convictions.

Recently, 170 prominent organizations concerned with substance abuse
recovery, access to education, the economy, faith and civil rights
joined together to issue a letter that encouraged Congress to
overturn this harmful and unfair penalty.

Of course, young people, more than any other group, also have a voice
in this discussion. Thousands of students from around the country are
sending letters to the people who represent us in Washington, D.C. If
you think the penalty is a bad idea, why not take action and add your
voice to the debate? Speaking up about this law is easy: All you have
to do is visit SchoolsNotPrisons.com/aid/ and enter your contact
information. A prewritten letter will be sent directly to your legislators.

It's great that addiction professionals, educators and religious
leaders are taking action on this issue. However, the aid penalty
primarily affects our generation, and it is up to us to do something
about it. If we don't speak out, Congress has no reason to do the
right thing. Tens of thousands of aspiring students are waiting to
get back in school. Please take two minutes to help them in their
quest to earn an education.

Kraig Selken

Member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Northern State University