The Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) was unsuccessful in its effort to repeal the Aid Elimination Penalty by March 30 when Congress passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA).

The penalty targets students convicted of drug possession offenses.

Currently, federal law revokes federal financial aid such as Pell Grants and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid from students who have any drug related offences while receiving aid.

Over 200,000 students are currently denied financial aid based on drug charges, according to SSDP. SSDP Outreach Coordinator Spacia Cosner said the organization feels the war on drugs is failing, and the policy unfairly penalizes students.

“Students with non-felony drug convictions shouldn’t be banned from financial aid,” Cosner said. “These students need access to higher education and deserve an education as much, if not more, than others.”

The House of Representatives voted on SAFRA, part of the health care reconciliation bill, while it still contained the amendments to the drug policy proposed by SSDP. Due to the reconciliation process, however, amendments that directly change policy require a 60 percent majority vote in order to pass into law. The proposed amendment did not receive a majority vote.

“Right now we’re just trying to arrest and jail our way out of the problem and that’s the wrong way to deal with those kinds of issues,” said SSDP Associate Director Jon Perri, who worked as a substance abuse counselor before coming to SSDP in 2005. “If we’re serious about tackling the problem, we want those people to be in school rather than on the street buying drugs. The drug war as it is doesn’t deter drug use, but it does keep people out of school.”

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Intervention Coordinator Stephanie Lake helps UC Davis students find treatment programs for drug and alcohol problems.

“I love seeing students change,” Lake said. “I believe that everyone is entitled to a second chance and I encourage students who face situations where they are denied aid to lobby Congress and get the law changed.”

Lake saw a total of 225 students last year – 116 for alcohol problems and 49 for marijuana. According to Lake, the most common illegal drug problems involve marijuana and oxycodone.

“Drugs need to be a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue,” Cosner said. “The war on drugs is an unwinnable war and we need alternative policies for dealing with drug use and abuse.”

Cosner joined SSDP after she was arrested her freshman year at the University of Maryland for possession of less than a gram of marijuana.

“Being arrested and being told that you are a criminal and a druggie definitely affects your ability to focus in school when what you really need to do is focus on just not getting kicked out,” Cosner said. “People who don’t know anyone affected assume that the users are drug addicts and a menace to society, but in fact drug use is very common among all ages.”

SSDP had a victory in 2007, when they successfully lobbied for the Aid Elimination Penalty to be non-retroactive, allowing students with drug offences in high school to continue receiving federal financial aid in college.

Perri suggested drugs ought to be regulated rather than banned in order to encourage responsible drug use.

“Responsible drug use, the same as for alcohol, involves rules for how to use the drugs and standards for behavior,” Perri said. “Right now it’s easier for younger students to buy marijuana in school than it is for them to buy alcohol. A liquor store clerk is unlikely to sell you alcohol if you’re under 21 but a drug dealer doesn’t card. It makes more sense to have regulation.”

Cosner said SSDP intentionally does not have a specific set of demands when it comes to drug policy so as to keep options open.

“There’s a lot of work and change that we can affect,” Cosner said. “I want people like myself to know that they’re not alone and that there are others out there who agree with them and are willing to fight against the drug war.”

JANE TEIXEIRA can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

100405_ci_healthbill.c

Headline: Students feel impact of Obama’s health care reform

Layercake: Young adults weigh in on the good, bad

By SASHA LEKACH

Aggie Associate Editor

Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Joseph Iser[cq] can’t see much a UC Davis student could find problematic in the recently signed health care reform.

The law, which passed this March, specifically targets younger constituents with a new option of staying on parents’ health insurance plans until age 26.

“[Yolo County] is very optimistic,” Iser said. “This is a way to make sure students have health care coverage.”

Although changes will not take effect for six months, Iser said the benefits are already apparent. Another valuable component of the bill is that students with preexisting conditions cannot be excluded and are treated equally for insurance coverage, he said.

“For students in particular it’s such a great benefit,” he said. “It’s a really good deal.”

Davis College Democrats Vice President of Communications Kelsey McQuaid [cq]shared similar views with Iser and is optimistic for what this means for future generations. Davis College Democrats did not release a public position on the bill, but McQuaid said in debates and discussions there seemed to be a common view.

“Our club members have varying views on how extensive reform should be,” McQuaid said in an e–mail interview. “But we all agree that this bill is a critical first step.”

Outside of the club, sophomore political science and Spanish major McQuaid was happy to see Obama sign the bill.

“This reform is a building block upon which we can further improve the system,” she said.

Not all students are celebrating the recently signed reform.

Lydia Sandlin[cq], a senior political science major, is part of the UCD group Davis College Republicans (DCR). After meetings and debates, the organization decided the health care reform has some problems.

“Our point of view is that it got rushed through the house and senate so fast,” Sandlin said. “And it’s so long, so nobody really knows what it said.”

Although Sandlin disagreed with the politics of the reform, she said the new age limit is a benefit that all students will appreciate.

Others problems Sandlin and other DCR members identified include its slow start – many parts of it will not be seen until 2014 – and a non-transparent signing process.

“We have a couple members who were infuriated by it,” Sandlin said. “It’s not just going to be completely free health care. To pay for those services, it is going to have to come from somewhere.”

New Grad Life, an online blog for soon-to-be graduates and recent college graduates, has an online poll about the health care bill. The site’s poll asked, “Does the recent health care bill really help college students/grads?” Of the 131 responses, 47 percent said yes, while 42 percent said no. Eleven percent was not sure.

SASHA LEKACH can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

It’s not every day that prominent local celebrities strut their stuff on the runway.

Local businesses donated fashions that were featured in the Yolo County Children’s Alliance (YCAA) Celebrity Fashion Show, kicking off a series of events for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The March 31 show raised money for victims of child abuse.

“We wanted to do something different, raise money for a serious issue in a lighthearted way,” said YCAA Executive Director Katie Villegas.

Among the fashion show’s celebrity models were Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan [cq]and Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig. Adopted and foster care children also walked the runway.

There were approximately 250 people in attendance, and the YCAA raised about $30,000. Businesses also provided local food and wine.

Sponsors of the Celebrity Fashion Show included Sutter Davis Hospital and the Davis Rotary Club.

Various events will occur throughout Yolo County to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Information about these events can be found at yolokids.org.

– Sarah Hansel

For over a month the Davis Food Co-op has been at the center of controversy over activists’ efforts to boycott Israeli products at the grocery store on 620 G St.

A group of the store’s shareholders have joined the Boycott Divest Sanction, an organization that seeks sanctions against Israel in retaliation for what they call systematic human rights abuses against Palestinian Arabs in the region.

Co-op members who buy into the store become partial owners and may vote on the grocery store’s policies. The Co-op members who had aligned with BDS recently sought to use their voting power to establish a boycott of Israeli goods at the store.

The boycott initiative was met with resistance from other Co-op members as well as pro-Israel political organizations. On Feb. 5 the Co-op’s board of directors, which acts as the store’s legislative body, unanimously voted against allowing the boycott initiative to come to popular vote in the store’s 2010 election.

Steve Reynolds, president of the Co-op’s board of directors, said the boycott movement was not in the store’s best interest because Co-op principals preclude the market from becoming involved in politics.

“Just as an individual and not representing [the whole] board of directors, [the BDS initiative] is illegal and improper and is far too divisive within the community,” Reynolds said.

BDS will continue its disinvestment campaign against Israel regardless of the Co-op board of directors’ decision, said BDS member Mikos Fabersunne. BDS is planning leaflet campaigns and has also filed a formal dispute to overturn the Co-op board’s decision, an action allowed in the grocery store’s by-laws.

BDS is also planning to work with UC Davis students in an attempt to cancel a study abroad program to Israel. The program focuses on Arab-Israeli relations from World War I to the present, the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and comparing narratives of the Palestinians, the Arab States and Israel, according to the program description.

Fabersunne said that the study abroad program to Israel exposes students to a slanted version of the region’s history. According to Fabersunne, the program’s cancellation would also align with BDS’ support of a general academic boycott against Israel.

UCD professor Zeev Maoz, who leads the university’s study abroad program, said that it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the issue of whether or not the program presented a biased view since students who attend the program should make that judgment.

“These kinds of accusations of bias come from both the pro-Israel side and BDS, so I must be doing something right,” Maoz said.

Maoz explained that his approach is to expose students to a wide range of figures involved in the peace process, including Palestinian and Israeli academics as well as policy makers.

“It is my hope that BDS would encourage people to travel to Israel so that they could see for themselves,” Maoz said in regards to the conflict.

SAMUEL A. COHEN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Campbell Soup Company’s local tomato production plant near Dixon has plans for expansion thanks to funding from the corporate office.

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board approved a tentative order for new food processing wastewater requirements for the larger plant on 8380 Pedrick Road near Dixon at a meeting last week.

Built in 1975, the Dixon plant is Campbell Soup’s largest tomato processing facility and currently employs approximately 180 people.

Dave Clegern, public information officer for the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), said the plant stills needs to update its water discharge analysis in an antidegradtion study. There does not appear to be an increased volume of water, but it is over a broader area.

“We’re not opposed to business growth,” Clegern said. “We just need to make sure the water quality isn’t degraded.”

The bigger plant will include new equipment and control systems for vegetable receiving, preparation, concentration and packaging.

They will also increase tomato processing during the summer by 60 days initially and allow for nine other vegetable ingredients to be processed during the spring and fall.

The season currently runs from July through October and will expand to run from May through October.

“The expansion of the Dixon facility will enable us to process a wide variety of California grown vegetables,” said Michael Dunn, vice president, manufacturing of Campbell’s Sacramento Operations in a press release. “We expect the benefits of the expansion to extend beyond Campbell and have a positive impact on local farmers, as well as the many other businesses that support farmers, such as supply and transportation companies.”

A UC Agricultural Issues Center study, commissioned by Solano County, on county farming, noted local agriculture needed to grow beyond its two major processing plants – the Campbell plant and a rendering plant.

Shortly thereafter, Campbell began taking steps to expand the plant at a cost of $23 million to process more tomatoes and other vegetables as well for its V8 and V8 Fusion brands.

The planned investment will increase tomato processing capacity by 15 percent and will allow the company to expand its beverage business, as well as vegetable ingredients for its soups and sauces such as Prego pasta sauce and Pace salsa.

“The demand for healthy beverages continues to grow as more people try to find easier ways to incorporate vegetables into their daily diet,” said Irene Britt, vice president and general manager of sauces & beverages, Campbell USA. “We expect the expansion of our Dixon facility to help us meet the increased consumer demand for Campbell beverages.”

Michael Ammann, president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation said there is potential to further expand the operation to a year-round one with more production lines. Because of certain air restrictions, he said Solano County is working on acquiring credits for air permit emissions.

“UC Davis does great seed research for this plant and others, so we have really high quality tomatoes,” Ammann said. “We not only want to increase employment, but be able to have the results go right back to the farm. We’re happy with the expansion, but there is still room for growth.”

Solano county agricultural commissioner Jim Allan said the local government will gain sales tax from new employee purchases. Additional truck drivers may be hired, further contributing to the economy.

ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.