Berkeley creates scholarship
Published Feb. 2, 2007
While some students might enjoy getting high, those who get caught will not enjoy getting federal financial aid.
In 1998, Congress passed an amendment to the Higher Education Act making students ineligible for federal financial aid if they have drug convictions. In response, one school has created a special scholarship for students who cannot receive Free Application for Federal Student Aid because of drug convictions.
The University of California, Berkeley student government passed a bill to create a $400 scholarship for students denied FAFSA aid. Berkeley is the first school to create a student government funded scholarship for this purpose.
"The law literally is the federal government denying students education," said David Wasserman, the Berkeley student senator who sponsored the bill.
Tom Angell, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy campaigns director said the group's main focus right now is the elimination of the amendment denying students financial aid because of drug convictions. It is working with other schools to pass similar scholarships and lobbying congress to repeal the amendment.
"The last congress had a bill, the RISE Act, with 71 co-sponsors that would have repealed the amendment," Angell said. "Even (Speaker of the House Nancy) Pelosi herself sponsored the RISE Act (in the 107th Congress). We're hopeful to start to see things change."
According to a report from the group called "Harmful Drug Law Hits Home," since it passed in 1998, the amendment has denied more than 197,000 students higher education funding, including 2,819 Missouri applicants. But according to Angell, these numbers do not include students who did not even try to apply because they knew they were ineligible.
"There are already academic requirements in place for higher education funding," he said. "Only good, hardworking students are affected by the law. If you're doing drugs all day and not going to class, you're going to lose your funding anyway."
MU does not offer any compensation to students who have been denied federal aid, said Cheri Marks, Financial Aid Office administrative associate.
Although the MU chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy has not tried to create a scholarship like the one at Berkeley, it did hold a rally in October 2005 to raise awareness among students about the effects of the act, president Justin Robertson said.
The Berkeley decision makes Robertson hopeful that MU could create a scholarship here soon.