JESSICA KOLDITZ / Scroll Illustration

Smoking the future away

Students with drug convictions lose Federal Aid

Jennifer Freeman FRE05015@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

According to the Higher Education Act, a student with a drug conviction can be limited in receiving federal financial aid. However, on March 22, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging this law.

The number of years an individual is denied aid correlates with the number of convictions. For one conviction you lose aid for one year, two years for two convictions, but with three convictions aid is permanently denied. Since 2000, this law has blocked financial aid to nearly 200,000 would-be students, according to EducationNews.org.

“I think this law is fair. Everyone knows there are consequences for your actions. It’s kind of like drinking and driving once and killing someone — there are consequences no matter how many times you have done it,” said Kamey Rigby, a senior from Montpelier, Idaho.

Other students don’t completely agree. “I think everyone deserves a second chance; everyone should be allowed one mistake,” said Melissa Petrella, a senior from Syracuse, N.Y.

The drug provision was originally passed in 1998, but was rarely enforced by the courts. Under pressure from student activists, the law was later scaled back, allowing some who had formally been denied aid to now receive it. However, those convicted while in college would still lose eligibility, according to a Feb. 1 release by the SSDP.

“I agree with the program. It is just like everything else. You have to qualify for the aid. If you do not meet the requirements, whose fault is that? They make the choice; now they have to pay the price,” said Bob Inama, faculty in the BYU-I History/Geography/Political Science Department.

The SSDP and ACLU claim the ban unconstitutional. They feel it violates the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment, as well as the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause.

“I don’t think they are violating anything. It is just another stipulation,” Petrella said.

However, the SSDP argued in its 15-page complaint that historically, educational institutions rather than the federal government have mandated decisions affecting student financial aid. They also feel this law interferes with criminal rehabilitation by denying a higher education to those convicted of drug offences.

“I think that the federal government is not helping people by just giving them things. Instead, they should have them work for it,” said Eric Carson, a sophomore from Rexburg. “The people who truly want to change will comply with these provisions.”