cannabisnews.com: A Lie College Students Might Want To Tell





A Lie College Students Might Want To Tell
Posted by CN Staff on April 13, 2006 at 14:35:13 PT
By Ryan Grim 
Source: Slate 
USA -- In 1998, Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., an advocate of stringent drug laws, slipped into a House bill an amendment denying federal financial aid for college to anyone who had been convicted of either selling or possessing drugs. No congressional committee voted on the amendment. But it passed as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, first enacted in 1965 to create federal financial aid for college students.
In 2004, the group Students for Sensible Drug Policy asked the federal government to give it a state-by-state breakdown of the number of students denied aid as a result of Souder's amendment. The Department of Education demanded $4,124.19 for the information. SSDP asked for a fee waiver, arguing that releasing the information was in the public's interest and that the group is a cash-strapped nonprofit. The agency denied SSDP's request, arguing that releasing the data could lead to drug legalization. Public Citizen backed SSDP in court. The New York Times editorialized on its behalf. The federal government blinked. On Wednesday, the Department of Education gave SSDP the state-by-state numbers. Here they are.If this law betters the lives of young people—Souder calls it a way to reduce youth drug use by reducing demand—then no state has done better than Souder's own Indiana. As of August 2005, nearly 9,000 Indianan students—one in 200—have been denied aid since the law passed. That's the highest proportion of students affected in any state by a wide margin. Click here to see where your state ranks.: http://www.slate.com/id/2139803/sidebar/2139804/A week ago, when the Department of Education released preliminary data, I started calling Martin Green, Souder's spokesman, for a comment on Indiana's stellar showing. He has not returned my calls.There's another funny thing about the Department of Education's numbers: They don't show the number of college applicants punished for drug convictions. They show the number punished for owning up to drug convictions. On their financial-aid applications, students are asked to check a box if they've been convicted of selling or possessing drugs. But the department has no way to verify students' answers. Officials can cross-check the answers with federal arrest records, but they make up a very small percentage of all drug convictions. So far, about 190,000 students across the country (and abroad) have told the truth and been denied financial aid. It's impossible to know how many lied and headed off to college, federal aid in hand. Nearly 300,000 student-aid applicants, however, simply ignored the question in 2000-2001, the first school year in which it was asked. After internal debate, the Clinton administration decided to give all these students a pass. (A fitting verdict, perhaps, given Clinton's own equivocal response to questions about drug use.) The Bush administration reversed this "ask, but don't tell" policy. Beginning in 2001, applicants who have refused to say whether they've been convicted of a drug crime are presumed guilty and bounced from the aid pool. That year, the number of students denied aid quintupled. When Souder's amendment came up for reconsideration last year, its opponents couldn't muster the votes to get rid of it. They settled for a change that denies federal aid only to students caught getting high while in college. That bill was signed by President Bush as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. But its future is hazy; it's tied up in court because the House and Senate versions differed slightly. Whatever its fate, the government still won't be able to verify much about a student's drug record. Which means they'll catch fibbing students only if they've had the unusual misfortune of being convicted of a federal crime. A word to the wise, and the not-so-wise: You may want to just check "no."Ryan Grim writes for the Washington City Paper. Complete Title: Just Check No? A Lie College Students Might Want To TellNewshawk: DankHankSource: Slate (US Web)Author: Ryan Grim Published: Thursday, April 13, 2006Copyright: 2006 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLCContact: letters slate.comWebsite: http://www.slate.com/URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2139803/SSDPhttp://www.ssdp.org/CannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on April 14, 2006 at 08:57:39 PT
Westnyc
I think you're right.
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Comment #5 posted by westnyc on April 14, 2006 at 07:53:36 PT
OJALA!
I think it is a class issue more than anything else. The "upper" class students - those whose parents pay for everything - still have the ability to continue their educations. The "upper" class will still be able to do their drugs and earn their degrees. However, the poor, might as well return to the trailer park, ghetto, barrio, etc. and prpaere for their future in prison; which, will eventually be orchestrated by their wealthy counterparts, who, are just as guilty of past drug use themselves!
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Comment #4 posted by runderwo on April 14, 2006 at 00:14:44 PT
hmm
I think this is along the lines of "giving kids one more reason to say no". So that you don't have to lie on your financial aid application. Not that anyone needs a reason to say no.
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on April 13, 2006 at 17:25:51 PT
Souder Sucks
So far, about 190,000 students across the country (and abroad) have told the truth and been denied financial aid.If only one student was denied aid it would be an outrage! Souder must be trying to dumb down people to bring them down to his level. 
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on April 13, 2006 at 16:51:44 PT
how sad
This guy has hit the nail on the head. THIS is the message we're sending to youth: if you want to succeed in OUR system, you have to be a liar. I'll always thinking lying is wrong, I don't care what anyone says. How can you succeed in life if you're not honest with yourself? You can't. 
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Comment #1 posted by dongenero on April 13, 2006 at 15:00:51 PT
re-elect Souder???
Do you suppose Souder will be re-elected after screwing 9000 Indiana students out of financial aid for college?What will these 9000 kids now do since they have no money for a higher education?They could always deal illegal drugs I suppose. May they set up shop in Souder's district.Stupid politician.Where will our country be if we deny our young people an education?Stupid, stupid politician.
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