Penn
State
Student
Government
Endorses
HEA
Reform,
Campaign
Grows
4/7/00
This week, the student government at Penn State University, representing 42,000 students, adopted a resolution calling on Congress to repeal the drug provision of the Higher Education Act of 1998. Penn State joins several other student governments, including Yale University, Douglas College at Rutgers University, University of Texas at Austin and the Association of Big Ten Schools, which have passed similar resolutions this semester. The drug provision, which goes into effect for the first time this year, automatically delays or denies federal student aid eligibility to any student for any drug conviction. Prior to the passage of the new law, judges had the power to restrict or deny eligibility in individual cases as they deemed appropriate. In response to the new law and the outcry that it has engendered, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced H.R. 1053, which would repeal the drug provision. Students are concerned this provision will block access to education, and call it an inappropriate response to the issue of substance use. The vast majority of young people convicted of drug offenses are convicted of simple, non-violent possession, overwhelmingly of marijuana. Also, opponents argue that since federal financial aid is need-based, the new law only affects students of low or moderate means. No other class of criminal offense, including violent or predatory offenses, carries an automatic loss of financial aid eligibility. "This (drug provision) is not a law to deny education to students who use drugs. It is a law to deny education to underprivileged minority students who use drugs. If these drug-involved students really are wasting their financial aid, the mechanism to take it away is already there. We don't need an additional, unappealable punishment of a type that's not assessed for theft, rape, or murder," said Michael Cohn of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas, University at Austin Chapter (DPFT-U). Martin Austermuhle, a student senator at Penn State University and a critic of the drug provision, helped to usher the repeal resolution through his student government. "Here at Penn State, approximately 80% of the students are receiving some form of financial aid. Our student government believes that stripping financial aid eligibility is counterproductive. We're certainly not going to solve the drug problem by denying people access to education. Once our student government saw how this law would likely impact poor and working-class kids who are trying to get their lives together, the resolution passed overwhelmingly." Other student governments that have opposed the drug provision include New York State Student Association, Student Association of Wisconsin, Rochester Institute of Technology, Hampshire College, Western Connecticut State University, Pitzer College, Western State College (Colorado), University of Wisconsin at Richland and Madison, University of Texas at Dallas, American University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Michigan and Indiana University at Bloomington. Students are also circulating an educators' sign-on letter to their professors and administrators, which supports H.R. 1053. Thousands of people have also contacted their legislators about this issue via http://www.raiseyourvoice.com. "This law places obstacles in the path of at-risk students who are trying to better their lives through education. This campaign unites student representatives and educators to show our political leaders that we will not stand by while access to education is held hostage to drug war grandstanding," said Kris Lotlikar, national director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). Many students, as many as 20% according to the Department of Education, initially left question 28 ("have you ever been convicted of a drug offense?") blank on their financial aid applications. Those who did received a notice from the Department of Education, which said, "If you have a drug conviction, you must answer Item 28. Your failure to accurately answer this question could result in legal action against you by the US Government." Brian Gralnick, a member of SSDP at George Washington University and DRCNet's campus coordinator, wonders how the baby-boom generation, famous for its own dalliances, can justify a seemingly hypocritical policy. "Why should young people be expected to tell the truth about their drug history when the public does not even demand it from their presidential candidates?" If you or anyone you know will be denied federal financial aid because of a drug conviction, please let us know at [email protected].
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