Pubdate: Mon, 12 Feb 2007
Source: Pine Log, The (TX Edu)
Copyright: 2007 Pine Log
Contact:   http://www.thepinelog.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4412
Author: Jesse Williams
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)

BERKELEY CREATES NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDENTS WITH DRUG CONVICTIONS

The Associated Students of the University of California Berkeley 
(ASCU) passed legislation in January which will allow students who 
have been denied federal financial aid due to drug convictions to 
apply for a scholarship.

The aid elimination penalty is part of the amendments to the Higher 
Education Act (HEA) in 1998. Nearly 200,000 students have lost their 
aid due to drug convictions since the amendments to the act.

David Wasserman, Berkeley senior and student senator, passed this 
idea last semester and contacted Students for Sensible Drug Policy 
(SSDP). The SSDP is an international student network trying to 
prevent the government from stripping students of their rights in the 
effort to get an upper hand in the Drug War.

"This is the first student government in the country to do something 
like this," Wasserman said.

So far, only one student will be selected per year to receive the 
$400 scholarship. The money will mostly cover books and give the 
student more time to look at other options to pay for schooling. The 
money can only be used for UC Berkeley housing, tuition, 
course-related materials and books.

The money comes from the finances granted to the ASCU during the 
school year. ASCU uses this money to hold student-related events.

Prior to 2006, any drug conviction in a student's history prevented 
the student from receiving any aid. Currently, the penalty only 
applies to students who are convicted of a drug-related felony while 
receiving financial aid.

Question 31 of the Federal Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) is 
what prompted Wasserman, a political science major to challenge the 
rule. The question asks if the aid applicant has been convicted of a 
drug felony.

"That's the only question that could disqualify you from getting 
aid," Wasserman said.

Depending on the answer, the person is placed in one of three 
categories to receive aid.

The first category consists of a person with no convictions, 
convictions made long enough in the past that eligibility has been 
reinstated or the conviction was made when person was a minor.

The second category is the person has aid for only part of the school 
year. The last category is the person is ineligible for aid for the 
entire school year or longer.

The first offense for sale of an uncontrolled substance is two years 
of ineligibility, while the second offense for sale is an indefinite 
number of years of ineligibility.

The first offense for possession of a controlled substance is one 
year of ineligibility. The second offense for possession is two 
years. The third offense is an indefinite number of years from receiving aid.

"While the aid elimination penalty is intended to reduce substance 
abuse, it actually causes more drug problems by blocking access to 
education," Kris Krane, executive director of SSDP, said. "While 
we're pressuring Congress to do the right thing by overturning the 
penalty, students at UC Berkeley and other colleges are taking action 
to help their peers stay in school where they belong."

UC Berkeley isn't the only school to adopt its own policy of funds to 
aid-stripped students. Yale University, Hampshire College, Swarthmore 
College and Western Washington University also have created 
scholarships for this predicament.

More than 125 other student governments have passed resolutions for 
Congress to overturn the aid elimination penalty.

According to the U.S. Department of Education report, Indiana has the 
highest percentage of students denied aid due to drug felonies. One 
in every 200 students is denied, which is .50 percent, which doubles 
the national standard of .25 percent. Other states that rank above 
the national average in denying aid are: Oregon, California, 
Washington, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Connecticut, Arkansas, 
Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa and Alaska.

It also stated that 31,830 students from California have lost aid due 
to this penalty. Texas is the second highest state to have aid 
stripped from 15, 025 students. Aid has also been lost to 9,180 
students from Florida, 8,962 students from New York and 8,903 
students from Indiana.

Michael O'Rear, director of financial aid at SFA, said it was highly 
improbable but possible for such a scholarship to be implemented at 
SFA. He said students would have to find an individual, individuals, 
organizations or students who would be sympathetic and willing to set 
up such a scholarship. Students would have to sponsor fundraisers to 
raise $5,500 to $6,000 in order to start the process; then, a 
committee would have to be created to select recipients.

"I don't want to discourage any scholarship activity, but this would 
be kind of hard," O'Rear said.

Even though O'Rear said the idea of a scholarship for drug-convicted 
students would be met with some criticism, he said there will still 
be some students who are willing to sacrifice their time and money 
for such a cause.

There are other sources of grants and scholarships from the state but 
each state has a different policy on handling drug-convicted 
students. Without federal assistance for higher education, it's 
harder to almost near improbable for a student to attend school.

"The government shouldn't find new ways to prevent students from 
getting a higher education," Wasserman said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom