DRCNet/Perry Fund LA Event, 11/7

DRCNet (Drug Reform Coordination Network) Foundation invites you
to a special event supporting:

THE JOHN W. PERRY FUND
Scholarships for Students Denied Federal Financial Aid Because
of Drug Convictions, Memorializing a Hero of 9/11 and Champion
of Civil Liberties

featuring celebrity keynote speaker RICK OVERTON and celebrity
emcee DEAN CAMERON.

Monday, November 7, 2005, 6:00-8:00pm, home of Richard Wolfe,
7171 Chelan Way, Los Angeles. RSVP to
perryfund [at] raiseyourvoice.com, (202) 362-0030. Light refreshments
will be served, cash bar, $50 minimum requested donation
(sliding scale available upon request).

Supporting speakers to include: Marisa Garcia, SSDP activist &
student affected by the HEA drug provision; Pat Hurley,
California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators;
David Borden, DRCNet; others to be announced.

http://www.raiseyourvoice.com/perryfund/

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RICK OVERTON is a prominent comic/actor/writer in Hollywood. His
film credits include roles in Fat Albert, Cloud Nine, Mrs.
Doubtfire, Groundhog Day, Blind Fury, Beverly Hills Cop,
Airplane II: The Sequel and many others. On television he had a
starring role in the series Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures;
Joan of Arcadia, Seinfeld, JAG, The Tonight Show, The Late Show
With David Letterman and NYPD Blue are only a few of his guest
TV appearances. He appears as himself in the recent movie The
Aristocrats, as well as on the television specials Comic Remix
and The Sunday Comics. Overton won an Emmy for his writing
during the 1995-1996 season of Dennis Miller Live. His web site
can be found at http://www.rickoverton.net online.

DEAN CAMERON has the dubious distinction of being known as "that
guy" from "those movies" -- Summer School, Bad Dreams, Rockula,
Men At Work, Ski School, Sleep With Me, Kicking and Screaming,
to name a few. On television his work includes a recurring role
on Mr. Sterling, guest appearances on Will & Grace, ER, Mad
About You, Felicity, Any Day Now, and regular roles on Fast
Times, Spencer and They Came From Outer Space. Cameron is a
writer, stage actor and producer -- his two person comedy "The
Nigerian Spam Scam Scam" was a sell-out hit at the Edinburgh
Fringe festival and will open off-Broadway next spring. Cameron
also plays bass with the band The Thornbirds. Visit
http://dean.mightycheese.com to learn more about him.

BACKGROUND ON THE PERRY FUND:

In 1998, Congress enacted an amendment to the Higher Education
Act that denies loans, grants, even work-study jobs to tens of
thousands of would-be students every year who have drug
convictions. All these young people, who were already punished
once for their offenses, are being forced to spend more time
working to pay for school, reducing their course loads, or
dropping out entirely. Since that time, a campaign to overturn
the law has spread to hundreds of campuses around the nation,
aided by civil rights, education, religious, substance abuse
recovery and drug policy reform organizations. A bill to repeal
the HEA drug provision, H.R. 1184 (the RISE Act), was
reintroduced on March 9 by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and has so
far garnered 69 cosponsors. A resolution opposing the drug
provision has been adopted by more than 115 student governments
at the time of this writing (October 2005), and more than 250
national and state organizations have called for the law's
repeal.

DRCNet (Drug Reform Coordination Network) Foundation, in
partnership with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and
other friends of civil liberties, has created the John W. Perry
Fund to help students affected by the law stay in school. Though
we can directly assist only a fraction of the 34,000 would-be
students who've lost aid this year alone, we hope through this
program to make a powerful statement that will build opposition
to the law among the public and in Congress, and to let
thousands of young people around the country know about the
campaign to repeal it and the movement against the drug war as a
whole.

Please join DRCNet on November 7 in Los Angeles to help make a
statement while raising money to help students affected by the
law stay in school! If you can't make it, you can also help by
making a generous contribution to the DRCNet Foundation for the
John W. Perry Fund. Checks should be made payable to DRCNet
Foundation, with "scholarship fund" or "John W. Perry Fund"
written in the memo or accompanying letter, and sent to: DRCNet
Foundation, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036. DRCNet
Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity, and your
contribution will be tax-deductible as provided by law. Please
let us know if we may include your name in the list of
contributors accompanying future publicity efforts.

ABOUT JOHN PERRY

John William Perry was a New York City police officer and
Libertarian Party and ACLU activist who spoke out against the
"war on drugs." He was also a lawyer, athlete, actor, linguist
and humanitarian. On the morning of September 11, 2001, John
Perry was at One Police Plaza in lower Manhattan filing
retirement papers when the first plane hit the World Trade
Center. Without hesitation he went to help, losing his life
rescuing others. We decided to dedicate this scholarship
program, which addresses a drug war injustice, to his memory.
John Perry's academic achievements are an inspiring example for
students: He was fluent in several languages, graduated from NYU
Law School and prosecuted NYPD misconduct cases for the
department. His web site is http://www.johnwperry.com .

Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org for further information on
DRCNet. Contact the Perry Fund at perryfund [at] raiseyourvoice.com
or (202) 362-0030 to request a scholarship application, get
involved in the HEA Campaign or with other inquiries, or visit
http://www.raiseyourvoice.com and http://www.ssdp.org online.

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