Scholarships aim to counter drug restrictions to federal aid

Copyright © 2002 AP Online

By ARLENE LEVINSON, AP National Writer

March 25, 2002 11:18 a.m. EST

Opponents of a 1998 law denying federal aid to thousands of college students with criminal drug records are trying to work around the law by offering financial help to those affected.

A coalition of drug-law reform groups plans Tuesday to inaugurate a scholarship for those denied aid because of drug records. The John W. Perry Fund scholarships honor a New York police officer who decried the war on drugs and died saving people in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

"He felt that adults should be able to do with their bodies whatever they wish, as long as they don't hurt anybody," said Perry's mother, Patricia Perry, of Seaford, N.Y.

"To punish students who are financially unable to get to college without this assistance is a travesty," she said. "John would very definitely be in favor of students like that."

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