Editor,
Has the war on drugs become a war on education?
In January 2005, law enforcement officers found a very small amount of marijuana inside a house I was sharing with two other students. A direct consequence of my pleading guilty to possession was that I immediately became ineligible to receive financial aid to help pay for my tuition at Northern State University in South Dakota.
Since Congress enacted this student aid elimination penalty in 1998, nearly 200,000 other students around the country have also suffered its effects. In New Mexico alone, 1,046 students have had their access to education aid blocked because of it.
While some students are able to stay in school by dropping classes and working extra hours to help cover tuition, tens of thousands of others aren't as lucky. Upon having their aid stripped, they're forced to drop out of school immediately. Many never return to finish their degrees.
I can't imagine how slamming the doors of education in young people's faces is supposed to be the cure for our nation's drug problems. In actuality, forcing students to drop out of college because of a minor drug conviction only makes it much more likely that they'll go on to have serious drug problems or commit other crimes. Instead, we should recognize that keeping determined and ambitious young people in college and on the path to success is best for students and society as a whole.
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You might be asking yourself, "Why should we waste taxpayer money on drug-using losers?" But because students are required to be in good academic standing to continue receiving aid, the penalty hurts only those who are doing well in their classes and who are likely to be good investments of aid resources.
Perhaps one of the most perverse aspects of the student aid elimination penalty is that it affects only people with drug convictions; rapists and murderers are able to continue receiving federal loans and grants to attend classes on your campus.
Thankfully, the new Congress is set to revise laws dealing with higher education and student aid this year, and leaders could take the opportunity to open the doors of education to individuals seeking to improve their lives after drug convictions.
Recently, 170 prominent organizations concerned with substance abuse recovery, access to education, the economy, faith and civil rights joined together to issue a letter that encouraged Congress to overturn this harmful and unfair penalty.
Of course, young people, more than any other group, also have a voice in this discussion. Thousands of students from around the country are sending letters to the people who represent us in Washington, D.C. If you think the penalty is a bad idea, why not take action and add your voice to the debate? Speaking up about this law is easy: All you have to do is visit SchoolsNotPrisons.com/aid/ and enter your contact information. A prewritten letter will be sent directly to your legislators.
It's great that addiction professionals, educators and religious leaders are taking action on this issue. However, the aid penalty primarily affects our generation, and it is up to us to do something about it. If we don't speak out, Congress has no reason to do the right thing. Tens of thousands of aspiring students are waiting to get back in school. Please take two minutes to help them in their quest to earn an education.
Kraig Selken
Member of Students
for Sensible Drug Policy
at Northern State University
