Pubdate: Sat, 17 Mar 2007 Source: Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO) Copyright: 2007 The Fort Collins Coloradoan Contact: http://www.coloradoan.com/customerservice/contactus.html Website: http://www.coloradoan.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1580 Author: Brooke Malcolm, Amanda Broz Note: Brooke Malcolm and Amanda Broz are co-founders of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Colorado State University. GOOD STUDENTS MUSTN'T FACE DOUBLE JEOPARDY The Higher Education Act of 1965 was intended to broaden access to college education by providing financial support to eligible students and institutions. What resulted was our modern federal financial aid system, which includes all types of need-based resources such as Pell grants, low-interest loans and federal work-study. For lower- and middle-class students, these forms of assistance put a post-secondary education within their reach. However, when the HEA was reauthorized in 1998, a provision that directly contradicts the original spirit of the law was adopted. Now dubbed the Aid Elimination Penalty, the amendment effectively strips federal financial aid from students convicted of any drug crime - even simple possession. Admission of a conviction or failure to answer on the FAFSA automatically renders the student ineligible for aid, regardless of financial need. To date, approximately $200 million has been withheld from nearly 200,000 students nationwide, which does not include the unknown number of students who did not apply for fear of rejection. Compounding this issue is the administration of state need-based aid, particularly in states such as Colorado. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education takes advantage of the federal aid processing system to determine students' eligibility for state funding. This translates to automatic ineligibility for students with drug convictions, despite the fact that Colorado has adopted no statute to that effect. Nearly 2,500 applicants in Colorado have been deprived of all need-based aid as a result of this administrative loophole. If the argument to preserve financial aid for drug offenders seems absurd, first, consider a few things. Murderers, rapists, child molesters, spouse abusers and arsonists are all eligible for federal and state money for their education if they choose to apply. An underage college student who drives drunk and kills another driver does not lose need-based awards. Conversely, a student meeting federal enrollment and GPA requirements who chooses to use an illicit drug - something that the current president and vice president have both admitted to doing in the past - will lose educational funding if prosecuted. Ultimately, most people who do not complete a college education are less productive members of society. A college graduate earns significantly more money throughout a lifetime, returns more money to the tax base and is better informed about issues and events than a non-graduate. Students who are denied aid cannot afford to pay for their education and many are forced to drop out. While some return to college, others are kept in lower income brackets, forced into low-wage jobs, require support from public assistance programs, and, in the worst cases, fall victim to a lifetime of substance abuse or addiction. It is undeniably in the best interest of this country to facilitate completion of higher education. The impact of the Aid Elimination Penalty is obvious: We are condemning our most motivated students - our future - to punishment above and beyond what is already allowed through the criminal court system. This provision is a blatant violation of our Constitutional Fifth Amendment right to due process, not to mention that our economy and global viability are damaged each time a student is blocked from receiving an education. Voters and taxpayers must call upon our state legislators and the Commission on Higher Education demanding that a new system be adopted for state financial aid processing - one that does not unfairly target students with drug convictions. We must also call upon Congress to repeal the Aid Elimination Penalty altogether. More information on this issue and others is available from Students for Sensible Drug Policy at CSU by e-mail at or from the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform at www.raiseyourvoice. com. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine