SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Young people who grow up poor, get involved in drugs and get caught shouldn't have to pay the price twice when they try to change their lives and go to college, University of Rhode Island President Robert L. Carothers said yesterday.
Carothers yesterday asked the state's congressional delegation to repeal a law that prevents drug offenders from receiving federal loans and grants to attend college.
"Access to higher education has always been the way out of poverty for millions of children of immigrants and minority parents," Carothers said. They "should not be excluded from higher education, the vehicle by which they can rise above their surroundings."
Since the drug provision was added to the Higher Education Act in 1998, an estimated 92,841 students have been denied financial aid, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Opponents say it's impossible to tell how many more students didn't apply to college, knowing they'd be turned down for school aid.
But the disproportionate impact of the provision on low-income students who depend on the loans and minority students -- who are convicted at a much higher rate than white drug offenders -- prompted him to oppose it, Carothers said.
About 80 percent of students at URI receive financial aid, the vast majority of it federal.
Calling drugs and alcohol the "curses of the poor," Carothers said he opposed penalizing people who are trying to better themselves through education.
As URI president, Carothers has secured $2.1 million in substance-abuse grants and has served on national boards for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse on college campuses.
"I don't take the issue lightly," he said at a small news conference organized by student leaders on the Kingston campus, in recognition of the National Day of Action to repeal the ban.
Students leaders said they also support House Bill 685, which seeks to repeal the drug provision. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat.
"If you're rich, and your parents can afford a good lawyer, or you don't need financial aid, this ban doesn't affect you," said Tom Angell, a member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform.
URI Student Senate and Brown University's Undergraduate Council of Students recently voted to support the repeal, as have 98 other college groups and several national organizations.
So far, Rhode Island congressmen have been hesitant to embrace the repeal. Yesterday, spokesmen for U.S. Representatives Patrick Kennedy and James R. Langevin were noncommittal, saying the congressmen were aware of the local support for the bill and would review the language carefully.
A spokesman for Frank said it is unlikely the bill, currently in a committee, will pass this session.
"It's an uphill battle," said Peter Kovar. "The current leadership of the House does not support the change."
