Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 Source: Good 5 Cent Cigar (U of RI: Edu) Copyright: 2007 Good 5 Cent Cigar Contact: http://www.ramcigar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2599 Author: Noel Marandola Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) PROTEST TO REED ABOUT DRUG REGULATIONS To the Cigar, Did you know that students with drug convictions - including possession of small amounts of marijuana - are automatically stripped of their financial aid while murderers and rapists are perfectly eligible to get government loans and grants? If you're as outraged as I am over this harmful and unfair penalty that has already affected 200,000 students, you'll be glad to learn that Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) is currently in a key position to do something about it. Senator Reed and other members of the Senate committee that handles higher education are debating what to do about the aid elimination penalty this week. If you agree that kicking students out of school causes more - not fewer - drug problems, why not take two minutes today to tell Senator Reed how you feel? All you have to do is call Senator Reed's office at (202) 224-4642 and politely tell the staffer who answers the phone that as a constituent you want the senator to overturn the student aid drug penalty because it causes more drug abuse. And when you're done with that, you can follow up by sending a prewritten letter to your legislators by visiting http://www.schoolsnotprisons.com/help/ and entering your contact information. As students, this policy is directed at us and our peers. If we don't ask our legislators to do the right thing, who will? Noel Marandola SSDP - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman