Pubdate: Tue, 25 Oct 2005
Source: Diamondback, The (MD Edu)
Copyright: 2005 Maryland Media, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.diamondbackonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/758
Author: Kevin Rector
Cited: University of Maryland SSDP http://www.ssdpterps.org
Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.daregeneration.com
Cited: United States Student Association http://www.usstudents.org
Cited: University of Maryland NORML http://www.normlterps.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)

FINANCIAL AID DRUG POLICY DISPUTED

Group Rallies to Change Act That Denies Aid to Drug Offenders

Damien Nichols meets students almost every day who have been busted 
on the campus for drug use.

Some of them lost their financial aid. Some were kicked out of campus 
housing. And others were suspended from the university.

Nichols is the president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a 
group on the campus representing a national organization and working 
to confront problems they see in U.S. drug policy.

The group recently ordered T-shirts, stickers and pins to help get 
their message out and to rally against a 1998 amendment to the Higher 
Education Act, which is up for reconsideration this year in Congress, 
that prohibits students convicted of drug offenses from receiving 
federal financial aid.

"We're small-time advocates trying to make a big impact," Nichols said.

According to the group's national website, "more than 175,000 
students have been ineligible for federal loans, grants, and 
work-study because of the HEA Drug Provision."

And while the SSDP may not have the most influential voice in 
Congress, it has worked with other groups to enhance and spread its message.

According to the group, student governments at 120 universities and 
colleges nationwide have passed resolutions calling for a full repeal 
of the HEA Drug Provision. Among the 120 schools are this university 
and four of its five designated peer institutes: University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of California at Berkeley, 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of 
Michigan, Ann Arbor. Student Government Association President Andrew 
Rose said he is unfamiliar with the resolution, which Nichols said 
was passed here about five years ago. Nichols wrote and proposed a 
resolution last year that would have restated the SGA's stand on the 
issue, but it didn't pass. Nichols said it "wasn't written very 
well," and that he may try again this year.

Congress addressed the issue by requesting the Government 
Accountability Office, an arm of Congress that conducts research on 
different Congressional issues, to research the provision.

On Sept. 27, the GAO released a report on the Higher Education Act 
that offered information on the outlined consequences of the act's 
drug provision and on the people affected by it.

Laurie Ekstrand, director of the GAO justice team, said the 
accountability office only offers information, and never takes a 
stand on legislation. "But," she said, "we are hoping the report will 
feed into Congressional debate."

The drug policy group said the GAO report failed to show the Drug 
Provision has a positive affect on student drug users, or that it 
necessarily prevents drug use.

"I think the GAO reiterated what students have been saying for the 
past seven years -- that the revision does nothing to reduce drug 
abuse in our country, and that education is the key to becoming a 
productive, tax-paying citizen," said SSDP Communications Director 
Tom Angell. Angell, who handles media relations and grassroots 
organization, is one of four full-time national staff members for the SSDP.

The United States Student Association is "completely opposed to the 
drug provision question" found on federal aid forms, said Legislative 
Director Jasmine Harris. The question asks students if they have ever 
been convicted of a "drug related offense."

"We believe the question is double jeopardy for individuals who have 
already paid their debt to society," Harris said. "And it adversely 
affects [minority] communities, largely due to our criminal justice 
system and the mechanisms in place."

The SSDP on the campus holds joint, biweekly meetings with NORML, a 
pro-marijuana lobbying group. Nichols said the meetings usually have 
a turnout of about 50 to 60 people, and close to 300 people have 
signed up for its mailing list. Nichols said he has aspirations to 
work more closely with the administration and faculty.

"One of the things I really want to do is get a faculty member, 
especially a tenured professor, to speak for us," Nichols said.

Nichols said there is a stigma surrounding the SSDP that hurts its 
ability to spread its message.

"People might just think we're some group of stoners. That's 
unfortunate, and it's not true," Nichols said. "We're ambitious 
people trying to help [students], because there are a lot of 
unfortunate things going on because of the drug war."

Now that the GAO has joined that discussion, the drug policy group 
hopes more attention will be paid to the Higher Education Act's problems.

"We hope that when Congress hears this [information] from its own 
researchers, they will finally begin listening and do something about 
it," Angell said.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake