For whom the bong tolls

There is a renewed push afoot to insure that students who have been caught in drug-related crimes are denied financial aid to universities and colleges. The idea originally came from Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., in 1998, when he slipped a stringent no-aid-for-stoners policy into the Higher Education Act. In applications for federal financial aid, students are prompted to check the box that asks if they've ever been caught using or selling illegal drugs. If so, no aid for you.\nIn 2004, Students for Sensible Drug Policy inquired for the records of those denied financial aid. The Education Department initially turned down the request, but eventually relented. When the records were released last week, the numbers took us by surprise. So far, 190,000 students nation-wide and abroad have been denied financial aid since the government began asking in 2000-01. The state with the highest proportion of students affected is -- self-evident drum roll, please -- Indiana! About one in every 200 Hoosier financial aid applicants have been turned down, which is a fairly surprising statistic.\nThe issue gets more complicated, as no one is entirely sure how many students have simply lied on their applications and gone off to college scot free. It would be nearly impossible for criminal background checks to be given to the hundreds of thousands of kids who apply to college every year, and most drug offenses are on a state level anyway. Some students got the idea just to avoid answering the question all together, since it is government paperwork and no one wants to lie to the government in an official capacity when money is involved, but the clamp has been shut on their coyness. The Bush administration decided in 2001 that if one doesn't answer the question, one is automatically presumed guilty and denied aid. \nAs an editorial board, we're torn up from the many ways the issue can be approached. Most of the record number of college-aged kids applying for financial aid have clean legal records, and they deserve the largesse of their (somewhat) generous government. Those who have been caught, however, might have the skills and the abilities to get in, but because of past transgressions, are denied. But then again, it's true that they have already paid their dues, most likely to minor offenses, and deserve the faith we give in rehabilitation. The government can't possibly check everyone's background, but it's ill-advised to lie on official paperwork, even if it seems stupid to own up to something you probably can't be caught for. And if you don't answer, you're still screwed. When asked about past drug histories, students shouldn't lie; but if they're lying and getting away with it, what incentive do they have not to? \nIt all leads back to the same conclusion: it's a financial aid question the government can't practically enforce, but still something that keeps tripping up students who honestly want to attend college. In the end, that's just inherently unfair.