A provision of the Higher Education Act involves denying
financial aid to students who have been convicted of drug-related
offenses. What impact do you think this will have on
students? Elizabeth Delgado Third-year
Sociology and Chicana and Chicano studies “I think it”˜s
discrimination against minorities just because statistics show that
Latino, Chicano, and black youth are the ones that are being
criminalized and the ones having all these reports filed against
them. If they’re 18 and decide to go to college they should
deserve to go and receive funding like everybody else. I
don’t think they should be judged by something they did when
they were 14 years old when they still didn’t know what they
wanted.” Anthony Venuti Third-year
Physiological science “People who are trying to do better in
their lives won’t receive any financial aid, so the act may
cause problems. A lot more people are not going to want to go to
college because they did something in the past that might affect
their future. I think the government has a right to ask, but you
shouldn’t have to answer if you don’t want to. It
should be optional.” Tricia Taylor
Fourth-year
Sociology
“I think that it’s unfavorable to ask whether or not
you were convicted of a drug offense. In essence, it’s just
going to be one more roadblock for people of disadvantaged
communities that are not represented on this campus. A lot of the
people from those communities wouldn’t be here if they
couldn’t get financial aid. To intimidate them by saying that
you may or may not get financial aid is to say you may or may not
get into this institution even if their academics are up to
par.” Aura Baldomero
Fourth-year
Ethnomusicology
“The fact that these students might not be able to pay for
it is going to discourage a lot of people from applying. If they
want to go to school and don’t get financial aid,
they’ll have to work two or three jobs, making them drop out.
It’s not their fault that their families can’t afford
to pay for a school like this. The reason we are going onto higher
education is because we need to gain more knowledge and the people
who need it most are the people who can’t afford it.”
Wendy Thomas
Alumna
Political Science and psychology
“It would probably have the reverse effect of what we
think outreach programs are attempting to achieve. Our campus will
become less multicultural and less diverse. The government is
entitled to know about these convictions, but I don’t know
whether they would want to base financial aid on that.”
Howana Lundy
Fourth-year
Sociology
“I think that drug offenses should not be considered for
financial aid because if the purpose of rehabilitation is to better
yourself, then going to school would be a means of doing that. If
you take away that opportunity to go to school by giving less means
to achieve, that’s defeating the whole purpose. I thinks
it’s just another law to make sure that people of color are
not allowed to go to school.” Compiled by CUAUHTEMOC ORTEGA,
Daily Bruin Staff. Photos by MINDY ROSS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff.
Web Adaptation by ROBERT LIU/Daily Bruin Senior Staff