10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 28, 1999 HIGHER EDUCATION Law denies financial aid to substance users Time out By Travis Reed Minnesota Daily MINNEAPOLIS (U-WIRE) - Students plan- ning to apply for federal financial aid should pre- pare to divulge more than just their social security number, university and address. The U.S. Department of Education published final rulings last Thursday on a law prohibiting stu- dents convicted of drug-related crimes from receiving federal financial aid. The regulation makes students who have been convicted of drug charges ineligible to receive Pell Grants, student loans and other.common types of federal aid. The Education Department regulation, slated to take effect on July 1, would withhold funds depending on the severity and number of offenses. With one conviction of drug posses ion, a stu- dent is barred from financial aid for one year. A second conviction bars a student for two years, and a student with three offenses will be indefinitely disqualified. Those convicted of selling drugs once will be denied eligibility for two years. With more than one conviction, eligibility for financial assistance would be indefinitely denied. If recent University Police reports are any indi- cation, the new standards could spell trouble for an increasing number of Minnesota students. Drug-related offenses have quadrupled during the past four years, according to campus police reports. From 1997 to 1998 alone, offenses jumped 26 percent. Despite this trend, as well as vocal advocation of more stringent punitive measures for drug offenders, the bill has received a share of opposition - includ- ing skepticism from some university officials. "I don't necessarily think that it will keep people from using drugs, but I think it might keep people from completing their education," said Dave Hayden, university coordinator of student behav- ior. "In substance-abuse prevention, we've found that scare tactics don't work" A student's eligibility for aid would be reinstat- ed if the student completes a rehabilitation pro- gram, but critics charge that such a policy is use- less to most. "The law includes even simple possession of marijuana, and there is nothing out there to reha- bilitate people from marijuana because many pro- fessionals don't believe that you can be addicted to it," said Jason Fizell, a member of the Department of Education committee that devised the regula- tions and staff person for the University of Wisconsin at Madison student government. Additionally, critics say the law might hurt peo- ple already socially and economically disadvan- taged. "People who use drugs are most likely to need financial aid," Hayden said. "Not everyone who uses drugs is economically disadvantaged, but it will affect people without money more than it will affect people with it." Fizell referred to the bill as a "farce," and said strong opposition exists among student groups, police officials and many members of the Education Department's committee. Even those within the department say the bill lacks credibility because students must self-report convictions on their aid application. Currently, no database of criminal records can be cross-referenced by the department. "We won't know whether or not students are guilty unless they put it on the applications or someone gives us evidence of the crime," said Jane Glickman, Education Department spokesperson. "We hope people will follow the law and report honestly, but we don't expect schools to check their students, either" Department officials said students caught mis- representing information on federal financial aid forms would face felony charges. Maryland. student studies in B10sphere. By Sean Mussenden The Diamondback COLLEGE PARK, Md. (U-WIRE) - University of Maryland junior Jim Brown is loving life. He enjoys a warm sunny beach everyday, even in the dead of winter. Stepping off the sand, he snorkels through transparent blue water over fields of coral. Minutes later, he strolls through a lush tropical rain for- est, past a grassy savannah into a scorching desert. All without leaving a single building. Brown is the most recent campus student to spend a semester studying in Biosphere 2, the well-known envi- ronmental research center in the Arizona desert. The building is a massive three- acre enclosed structure that houses seven separate "ecosystems," includ- ing a simulated rainforest, desert and ocean. As part of a study abroad program run by Columbia University called the "Earth Semester," Brown takes classes this fall inside Biosphere 2. He works with scientists studying how environ- mental changes - such as an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmos- phere - affect life on Earth. Both inside the classroom and out, Brown said he is enjoying the experi- ence. About 100 college students from across the country are enrolled in the "Earth Semester." DANNY KALICK/DaiU Parking Enforcement Officer Anne Howard issues a ticket to a car parked at an expired meter on South State Street yesterday. I JFK film found in Texas school archives By Kris Gutierrez Daily Skiff FORT WORTH, Texas (U-WIRE) -On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke to a crowd of supporters at a breakfast at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth. As he joked with the crowd, laughter and joy spread throughout the ballroom. But hours later, sadness and grief spread across the nation as Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Those few hours in Fort Worth, captured on 8mm film, were discovered in the Mary Couts Burnett Library at Texas Christian University among material donated to the university. In 1990, former Speaker of the House and current TCU professor Jim Wright donated the collection of material he compiled during his 34 years in Congress. The 8mm film was found among the material, and it has left TCU archivist Glenda Stevens wondering who owns the film. Most work comes to the library with an identi- fied creator, Stevens said. Books have authors and letters have signatures, but this film is different because no one knows who shot the footage, she said. "In the case of a piece of film like this, it could have been from someone who was in the district and at the breakfast," Stevens said. "Since Jim Wright was in the film, and it's significant, they could have just passed it along to him" Wright could not be reached for comment. Norma Ritchson, Wright's assistant, said Wright felt the issue was over-hyped. "We have a lot of stuff here on Kennedy," Ritchson said. "We have an entire film of the speech that day, but (the film in dispute) was filmed with a home movie camera." Stevens said the film, which is in color and runs about three minutes in length, was first noticed when inventory was done a year or two after the material was donated. "It needed preservation, so it wasn't until two or three years ago that we took it to someone who coul reproduce it for us," Stevens said. "We did it in case people wanted to use it, but there is a copyright problem." Stevens was reluctant to say who, but someone wants to make a documentary film out of home movies about Jackie Kennedy and events surrounding the Kennedy assassination. "I thought this was something they could make use of if I had felt free to let them use it,' Stevens said, "So that's what prompted us to go ahead and clear up the matter of who had done the filming." TCU gained ownership of the actual piece of pror erty, but not the copyright of the footage, when it was donated from Wright. "We're free to use it for any educational use, Stevens said. "But if anyone wants to use it commer- cially, then you have to get permission from the copy- right holder." WANT TO WRITE FOR THE DAILY? CALL 76wDAILY :., OR STOP BY{ THE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BUILDING. AT TIAA-CREF, LOW EXPENSES ARE A HIGH PRIOBJTY. Graduate with Experience. Learn to Get Published Today! Getting Published Makes You the Expert. Writing for Publication Video or Book By Erik.Bean r0 available now at Amazon.comn Getting an article published is something nlo one can ever take away from you, an important complement to your degree, resume, and future. For details visit: The Online Magazine Article Writing Workshop(' It-:. 99 0Q FreelanceWorkshop.com _ ___ _ _... ,s ----- All financial companies charge operating fees and expenses - some more than others. Of course, the lower the expenses you pay, the better. That way, more of your money goes where it should - toward building a comfortable future. As the largest retirement system in the world,1 we have among the lowest expenses in the insurance and mutual fund industries.2 In fact, TIAA-CREF's 0.35% average fund expenses are a fraction of the expense charges of comparable funds.3 It's one reason why Morningstar says, "TIAA-CREF sets the standard in the financial services industry." A focus on your future Of course, expenses are only one factor to consider when you make an invest- ment decision. Morningstar also noted our commitment to "consumer education, service" and "solid investment perfor- mance." Because that can make a differ- ence in the long run, too. At TIAA-CREF, we believe people would like to spend.more in retirement, not on their retirement company. Today, over two million people count on that approach to help them build financial security. So can you. >' , . s