https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/365 /frank.shtml

	Barney Frank

DRCNet (Drug Reform Coordination Network) Foundation and the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts (DPFMA) invite you to a special event featuring keynote speaker:

REP. BARNEY FRANK, 4TH DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, US CONGRESS

To benefit:

THE JOHN W. PERRY FUND
Scholarships for Students Denied Federal Financial Aid Because of Drug Convictions, Memorializing a Hero of 9/11 and Champion of Civil Liberties

On Thursday, December 9, 2004, 6:00-8:00pm, Omni Parker House, Alcott Room, 60 School Street (corner of Tremont), Boston. RSVP to [email protected], (202) 362-0030 or (617) 426-7979. Light refreshments will be served. Suggested minimum donation $25, sliding scale or free admission available on request. (No one will be turned away.)

Supporting speakers to include State Rep. Byron Rushing, Boston City Councilmember Chuck Turner, well known author Wendy Kaminer representing the ACLU of Massachusetts, David Borden of DRCNet, Whitney Taylor of DPFMA, Joe White of Change the Climate, Scarlett Swerdlow of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Bernie Pekala of Boston College and the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, others to be announced.

http://www.raiseyourvoice.com/perryfund/

Barney Frank has served in Congress since 1981. He is the Senior Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and is also a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. Previously he was a Massachusetts State Representative and an assistant to the Mayor of Boston. He has also taught at several Boston area universities. Rep. Frank has been a vigorous champion of reforms to draconian US drug policy, including medical marijuana, asset forfeiture reform, a "safety-valve" exemption to mandatory minimum sentencing, and repeal of a 1998 law that has delayed or denied financial aid eligibility to more than 150,000 would-be students.

BACKGROUND ON THE PERRY FUND:

John W. Perry

In 1998, Congress enacted an amendment to the Higher Education Act that denies loans, grants, even work-study jobs to tens of thousands of would-be students every year who have drug convictions. All these young people, who have already been punished once for their offenses, are being forced to spend more time working to pay for school, reducing their course loads or dropping out entirely. Since that time, a campaign to overturn the law has spread to hundreds of campuses around the nation, aided by civil rights, education, religious, substance abuse recovery and drug policy reform organizations, and a bill in Congress to repeal the HEA drug provision, H.R. 685, has garnered 69 cosponsors. A resolution opposing the drug provision has been adopted by more than 110 student governments at the time of this writing (November 2004), and more than 180 national and state organizations have called for the law's repeal.

DRCNet (Drug Reform Coordination Network) Foundation, in partnership with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and other friends of civil liberties, has created the John W. Perry Fund to help students affected by the law stay in school. Though we can directly assist only a fraction of the 34,000 would-be students who've lost aid this year alone, we hope through this program to make a powerful statement that will build opposition to the law among the public and in Congress, and to let thousands of young people around the country know about the campaign to repeal it and the movement against the drug war as a whole.

Please join us on December 9 in Boston to thank Rep. Frank for his important work on this issue while raising money to help students stay in school! If you can't make it, you can also help by making a generous contribution to the DRCNet Foundation for the John W. Perry Fund. Checks should be made payable to DRCNet Foundation, with "scholarship fund" or "John W. Perry Fund" written in the memo or accompanying letter, and sent to: DRCNet Foundation, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036. DRCNet Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity, and your contribution will be tax-deductible as provided by law. Please let us know if we may include your name in the list of contributors accompanying future publicity efforts.

ABOUT JOHN PERRY

John William Perry was a New York City police officer and Libertarian Party and ACLU activist who spoke out against the "war on drugs." He was also a lawyer, athlete, actor, linguist and humanitarian. On the morning of September 11, 2001, John Perry was at One Police Plaza in lower Manhattan filing retirement papers when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Without hesitation he went to help, losing his life rescuing others. We decided to dedicate this scholarship program, which addresses a drug war injustice, to his memory. John Perry's academic achievements are an inspiring example for students: He was fluent in several languages, graduated from NYU Law School and prosecuted NYPD misconduct cases for the department. His web site is http://www.johnwperry.com.

Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org for further information on DRCNet. Visit http://www.dpfma.org for further information on the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts. Contact the Perry Fund at [email protected] or (202) 362-0030 to request a scholarship application, get involved in the HEA Campaign or with other inquiries, or visit http://www.RaiseYourVoice.com and http://www.SSDP.org online.

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