It started with Congress, which in 1998 voted to deny federal financial aid to students with minor drug convictions like marijuana possession. Now the use of financial aid as an incentive to curb "undesirable" student behavior has moved to the state level. But in the latest legislative crackdowns, it's not pot-tokers but political activists who could be punished.

The situation stems from campus riots, a problem state legislatures have been under increasing pressure to address in recent years. Unlike the 1960s anti-Vietnam War unrest at places like Berkeley and Columbia, today's riots are more closely aligned with cheap beer and well-heeled athletic programs.

In Ohio, where an Ohio State University football victory over Michigan last year set off a celebratory riot resulting in nine torched cars and $135,000 in police overtime costs, Governor Bob Taft OK'd a law in June that takes away financial aid for up to two years from students convicted of "rioting" or "failing to disperse."

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