Drug felonies prevent students from receiving aid

Thousands of students are ineligible for financial aid this semester due to an obscure amendment made to the Higher Education Act in 1998.

Congressman Mark Souder, R-Ind., made provisions to the HEA in 1998. The provision included a line stating drug felons were not eligible for financial aid.

In reaction to law, Students for Sensible Drug Policies formed. SSDP is an international grassroots network fighting for fair drug regulations.

"These harsh drug laws are directly targeting our generation," Tom Angell, SSDP Campaigns Director, said. "If we don't fight back against them, then no one else is going to."

Angell said nearly 200,000 students have been denied higher education financial aid since a question regarding drug felonies was added to the Free Application for Student Aid form in 2000.

The FAFSA Web site says a student can answer "no" to FAFSA drug felonies question if he or she has never had a drug conviction for possessing or selling illegal drugs, if the conviction was not a state or federal offense, if the conviction occurred before he or she was 18 years of age and he or she was not tried as an adult or if the conviction was removed from his or her record.

This particular drug law affects students everywhere.

"I was a senior in high school when I received two drug felonies," Scott Bailes, a senior religious studies and sociology major from Beckley, W.Va., said "I had no clue about the law at the time."

After serving more then nine months in jail and three years of probation, Bailes is pursuing his degree at Marshall.

Bailes' mother is financially stable and helps him pay for college, but many students in Bailes' position simply would not have had the means to pay for a college education.

There is not an SSDP chapter at Marshall, but anyone who wants to start a chapter may do so.

Angell said students who want to get involved with SSDP, or who have general questions about the law, can go to www.SchoolsNotPrison.com or e-mail ssdp@ssdp.org.

Amanda Campbell can be contacted at campbell78@marshall.edu.