Harvard Ignores Drug Oath

Harvard officials said yesterday they are not actively enforcing provisions of a written oath required by a seven-month-old federal law in which some financial aid recipients promise they will not use drugs.

Although the University is complying with the law by having students sign a form, it does not plan to investigate financial aid recipients to ensure that they have not violated their promise to stay away from drugs.

"The law is an inappropriate imposition on federal aid programs," said James S. Miller, director of financial aid. "The University is not an enforcement agency, it is a steward of funds only."

"I don't think any university is a law enforcement agency," agreed John Shattuck, University vice-president for government and public affairs.

The law, which applies only to Pell Grant recipients among student aid beneficiaries, denies federal funds to anyone convicted on federal or state drug-related charges, and is part of the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act.

Approximately 450 Harvard students have committed to the oath, Miller said. None have refused to sign the statement, he said, nor have any had their aid threatened because of a drug violation. Nationwide, about 3 million have signed pledges with no reported refusals, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Most financial aid officials shared the positions forwarded by Miller and Shattuck, it was reported.

Harvard Deputy Police Chief Jack W. Morse said that drug arrests involving students are very rare. Student arrests become part of the public record, he said, but school officials would not be directly notified.

"They would have to go through the public court records like anyone else," Morse said.

Arrest Reports

Asked if financial aid officers would be combing through police arrest records searching for financial aid recipient violators, Miller said "absolutely not."

Information provided by the Department of Education yesterday indicated that other students receiving federal aid do not have to sign the oath because they are not technically "grantees" as defined by the legislation. While the government distributes aid directly in the Pell, the educational institution is the grantee for the Perkins Loan and College Work-Study programs.