Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2007
Source: Guardian (Wright State U, OH Edu)
Copyright: 2007 Guardian
Contact:  http://www.theguardianonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4586

ONE PUFF TO END IT ALL

Every weekend at Wright State, students go out to bars and drink
inordinate amounts of alcohol, drive home drunk and generally make bad
decisions. Students who get caught doing this are ticketed, arrested
or given a fine.

Students who smoke pot, more commonly in smaller groups at home or at
friends' houses, are ticketed, arrested, or given a fine - and then,
their financial aid is often taken away.

Why does this make sense? Some argue that students who are getting
money from the government should not use this help, directly or
indirectly, to fuel a drug habit. (You don't have to spend as much
money on tuition so you can afford to buy drugs.)

But let's look at those student populations. Many students who smoke
weed do it socially - meaning their friends smoke, too. Michael Booher
from Student Legal Services had it right when he said that these
students who get caught smoking pot are in a "drug culture" - they're
hanging out with people who do drugs. College is many of these
students' chance to make new friends, expand their horizons, and get
out of that "culture." Why take this opportunity away from students
who want to get an education?

What about the incomes of these students? The government doesn't give
out financial aid to everyone - these students had to need it to get
it in the first place. So what are they supposed to do now, if it was
difficult to pay for school before?

Financial aid is given to help more students go to college - a more
educated population equals a more successful society. Why take this
away from the students who need the education the most?

Instead of taking away first-time offenders' chance of making it
through a college education, why not find a solution that helps them
become more responsible users of the financial aid we're paying for?
Let's give them rehab, regular drug tests and counseling. Let's
encourage them to be more involved in society by requiring community
service - maybe they'll make friends who aren't on the same path.

Whatever we do, let's not make it even harder for these students to
graduate. Denying first-time offenders the chance to fix their
mistakes and come out better on the other side won't help anyone.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake