Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 Source: FSView & Florida Flambeau (FL Edu) Copyright: 2001 FSView & Florida Flambeau Contact: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1364 Website: http://www.fsunews.com/ Author: Fernando Senra, News Editor Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.ssdp.org/ NORML http://www.norml.org/ A CHANCE TO PICK UP THE PIECES This past week, Florida State University's Senate passed a resolution concerning the Higher Education Act that would not deny federal financial aid to an individual convicted of state or federal drug offense. This issue had been addressed in the student senate several times and was raising different views from the people involved in the decision making. "If someone has a serious drug addiction and you take away their financial aid then they're never going to get help," resolution sponsor Senator Dan Jenkins said. "I would have to say that this was one of the most controversial resolutions that we've ever passed, but I think it's all about getting people to have a better life and education is the first step to securing a bright future." By passing this resolution, FSU has joined other prestigious schools in endorsing the resolution. Yale and George Washington universities are among the group that have passed a similar resolution dealing with the financial aid denial. Senators in charge of sponsoring the bill stressed to the people in attendance certain key points that would convince them to vote for the resolution's passing. The main points brought about by the group are the same thoughts expressed by the Students for Sensible Drug Policy which state that blocking access to education is counter-productive, the HEA drug provision will hurt working families, it may have a discriminatory impact, does not increase funding for drug abuse treatment programs and that overall it will do nothing to solve the nation's drug problem. Despite the efforts made by the student senators and organizations in attendance, not everyone was in agreement about the resolution. Some senators felt that passing this resolution would add to the school's party reputation and that there should be other options considered to get the student voice heard. "I think it would help us more if we passed a resolution that would point out our positive attributes," Senator Melanie Shoemaker said. "For students (the passing) could be positive in terms of financial aid. Although in terms of the school's reputation and how we're known might be negative." Other groups on campus that took part in the Senate meetings included members of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws who feel that not only will the passing of the resolution be good for the students, but it will also be advantageous to the school's reputation. "The passing of this resolution shows that our school is willing to stand up for the things that it believes in," NORML member Josh Childs said. "The bill has nothing to do with supporting drug policy, it's only saying that you want people to educate themselves and move forward in the world. I don't think that will reflect negatively on the school at all." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake