Council Leaders Resist Ending Meeting Early

Amid vociferous attempts to adjourn early to watch the finale of “Joe Millionaire,” the Undergraduate Council came out against a law that would deny federal funding to students convicted of drug-related offenses.

The council, whose ranks were thinned by the blizzard, also approved a screening of the film Catch Me If You Can for March 6 in the Science Center.

Tickets for the event, a council first, will cost $1 for undergraduates and $3 for other Harvard affiliates.

After a spirited debate, the council resolved that the University should publicly oppose the Drug Free Student Aid Provision of the Higher Education Act of 1998, following a trend in colleges across the nation.

The law has been criticized for denying federal financial aid to students with prior drug convictions.

Proponents of the council resolution said the law hurts minorities and the poor, who make up a disproportionate percentage of drug convictions.

Opponents questioned the impact of the federal law, arguing that its limited effects did not justify a council resolution.

The council ultimately approved the resolution by a vote of 23-12 with one abstention.

Harvard’s standard financial aid policies already compensate for any loss of aid due to the law.

The resolution demands that University President Lawrence H. Summers go further by publicly denouncing the law.

Summers was unavailable for comment last night, but said in an interview last month that aspects of the law were “very odd” and “difficult to justify.”

Summers added, however, that he was unsure what involvement the University could have on the issue.

The debate on the federal law was not the only source of contention last night.

When Fox reality show “Joe Millionaire” started at 8 p.m., council members became restless.

“Please refrain from hissing,” council President Rohit Chopra ’04 said as members expressed their disapproval of one attempt to extend debate.

The meeting adjourned—quickly—at 8:30 p.m.

—Staff writer William B. Higgins can be reached at whiggins@fas.harvard.edu.