Pubdate: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 Source: Daily Independent, The (KY) Copyright: 2002 The Daily Independent, Inc Contact: http://www.dailyindependent.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1573 Author: Tim Meko Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) STUDENT OPPOSES RANDOM DRUG TESTS I am in favor of abolishing the random drug testing policy at Russell High School. I have been a victim of this unconstitutional act and believe that it should be ended. I am aware that a student's rights are changed whenever they enter the school, but I also believe that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and that drug testing violates one's fourth amendment right against illegal search and seizure. I'm not in favor of drug use, nor do I condone it, but I do feel schools should not be able to perfrom such "random" drug tests. I am also convinced that these tests are not truly random. School officials and teachers can see which students use drugs (it's fairly obvious), but somehow fail to test them. I believe these omissions from the testing are to preserve the school's good record with the local media. The premise for these tests is the participation in extracurricular activities and sports. It has, however, been proved that the involvement in these activities is a deterrent to drug use. What has happened at Russell is the exact opposite: the threat of being drug tested has driven many students to totally withdraw form extracurricular activities, leaving them with nothing but free time after school. Another problem that I have with the drug testing policy is the cost. I lack a textbook in my Statistics class because there are not sufficient funds, yet there was enough money to pay for the drug test that was issued to me recently. My problem with this is the fact that thousands of dollars have been spent on drug testing when there are clearly higher priorities within the school system. Tim Meko Senior, Russell High School - --- MAP posted-by: Beth