Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2003 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Author: Jerome Mc Collom Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act) FINANCIAL AID BAN JUST NOT GOOD POLICY Now that Republicans in the state Legislature have acted to ban students convicted of selling drugs from receiving student financial aid, maybe they should step back and see if this is good policy ("Bill would deny aid to students who dealt drugs," Nov. 13). Lawmakers state that those who complete drug rehabilitation are eligible again, but are effective rehabilitation services provided to allow people to meet this option? It is much more expensive to just lock up drug offenders than to rehabilitate them, which reduces recidivism, but we still target imprisonment mainly as public policy. A second conviction under this measure can bring an automatic lifetime ban on receiving state financial aid. Many sellers are 17 or under; should people be punished for a lifetime for what they do as a stupid kid? Aren't all of us at 50 wiser than at 19? Should these young people be stuck in a low-wage job for a lifetime or, even worse, see drug selling as an attractive alternative again? State financial aid pays for itself in the long term; it produces productive citizens. Policy should not be based on emotional feelings of getting back at wrongdoers but seeing if it is good for society. This ban by state legislators - a similar ban already exists nationally - is not. Jerome Mc Collom West Milwaukee - --- MAP posted-by: Josh