College Clips

By James Patrick Schmidt

Published Dec. 5, 2006

Judge approves FAFSA drug question

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit to abolish a drug conviction-related question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Question 31 on the FAFSA, which asks whether a student has been convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs while receiving federal student aid, prompted the Students for Sensible Drug Policy to file a lawsuit last spring to eliminate the question.

Students who answer "yes" are denied aid for at least a year or until they complete a rehabilitation program for drug usage.

The suit alleged that the FAFSA question was unconstitutional for violating the "double jeopardy" clause of the Fifth Amendment because students are already punished for the drug offense.

U.S. District Judge Charles Kormann granted a government motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Oct. 27.

— Oregon Daily Herald (University of Oregon)

Iowa apartment boom means more for less

An excess of apartments has been springing up in Ames, Iowa, and the surplus could lower rent.

"People can rent them, and it's easy access for people who need a place to stay," said Chuck Jons, a member of the Ames Planning and Zoning Commission. "But if you have a family, they are not the kind of place to live in permanently. They are primarily first-time residences and a great place for students."

He said the city's tax incentives might be partially responsible for the boom in the construction of rental housing. But having an excess of apartments is not without its benefits. Students and Ames residents are getting lower rent and more amenities as a result of the competition.

"This is creating higher expectations (from tenants), so not everyone suffers," Ames City Manager Steve Schainker said.

— Iowa State Daily (Iowa State University)

'I'm a comedian, not a newsman,' says Colbert

Life, liberty and the pursuit of truthfulness. That's what Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert brought to a packed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government last Friday. The comedian answered questions both in and out of character.

"Please don't look to me for information," he said. "Because sometimes I lie."

On his Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report," Colbert plays a hyper-arrogant, conservative commentator.

"I don't perceive myself as a newsman at all," Colbert said. "I am a comedian from stem to stern. If people learn something from my show, that is incidental to my jokes."

Colbert's character satirically takes aim at the "news" from a staunchly right-wing point of view, intended to underscore a surge in conservative American journalism.

"(News today) is a cult of personality," he said. "One thing liberals aren't, is unified in their thought. One thing the right does is maintain a unified front, so it is easier to do it passionately from the right."

— Tufts Daily (Tufts University)