Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Source: Plain Dealer, The (Cleveland, OH)
Copyright: 2014 The Plain Dealer
Contact: http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/letter-to-editor/
Website: http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/342
Note: priority given to local letter writers
Author: Angela Townsend
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

SCHOOL-WIDE DRUG TESTING: READERS WEIGH IN WITH PRAISE, CRITICISM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It didn't take long after a Plain Dealer story 
about drug testing coming to three area high schools this fall posted 
Tuesday before cleveland.com readers began sharing their opinions. 
Many questioned the motives of the schools -- Gilmour Academy in 
Gates Mills, St. Edward High School in Lakewood, and St. Ignatius 
High School on Cleveland's West Side --  and whether or not students' 
privacy was at stake.

Others who applauded the move wrote that school-wide drug testing is 
a necessary measure to keep children safe, to deter them from trying 
drugs and to and provide much-needed help to those who have already 
gone down that path.

Here is a small sample from reader comments:

 From era9094:

There is a heroin and opiate epidemic in our country. It starts 
innocently enough with experimentation with prescription pills, and 
moves quickly to heroin. Our young people are at great risk, across 
all socioeconomic classes. I applaud the schools who are recognizing 
this and taking action. If it can deter even a small number of kids 
from using/experimenting in the first place, then it is worth the 
controversy. I do agree that the administration and faculty should 
also be subject to this testing, and I would hope that this was 
already a condition of employment.

 From Jackhammer John:

High-achieving students are essential for these schools to maintain 
their reputations. I'd think you'd want to avoid alienating them by 
treating them as crime suspects.

 From Kent Millstead:

Sounds like a lot of expense to get at a small percentage of drug 
use. Paying to prove you're clean is a sad state of affair in today's world.

 From Stags_Leap:

If they actually want to make hair testing valulable to the students, 
they should not only be testing for drugs, but heavy metal toxicity 
and current vitamin levels.

 From eoak:

This will be interesting to observe. For such a public announcement I 
wonder how forthcoming the Catholic schools will be regarding the 
annual results.

Motivation? I also wonder if there is something "brewing" within the 
ranks of these schools that has the administrators concerned beyond 
simple "wellness" lessons.

Lots of these kids have money and resources for many types of drugs 
especially they pricey ones.

 From imwatchingyouctown:

I am no fan of drug testing unless there is reason. But, these are 
private schools and they have every right. I would not be in favor of 
this in public schools. I think that drug testing is a violation of 
one's right to privacy.

 From joeray:

As a graduate of St. Edward HS and now a trial attorney for the past 
30 years, I find this news very troubling. No matter how you justify 
it, drug testing without cause is wrong. The fact that this was 
raised as a threat is against everything we've been taught about a 
free society. If a student is on heroine, it will be a fatter of a 
day or two before their actions, grades or demeanor will give them away.

I have been a big supporter of the Jesuit Community but this decision 
stands as a black eye on a community that strives to perpetuate social justice.

Students, it's your turn... Stand up and reject this act of tyranny. 
Parents, support your kids...

 From Cleveland2006:

Even as a parent, I'm very much against this. People do have a 
constitutional right to privacy, and I personally feel that drug 
testing all students across the board is a violation of that. The 
U.S. Supreme Court ruled (for public schools) that they could drug 
test students participating in competitive extracurricular 
activities. Fine. But that leads me to believe that it stopped there 
because drug testing all students isn't constitutional. And 
regardless of whether you go to a public school or a private school, 
rights are rights. I am happy to see that students won't face 
disciplinary consequences if they fail, but that makes me 
wonder--what if they fail a second time? A third time? What happens 
then? I'd also be interested to know how the drug testing is paid 
for--after doing a little research, hair testing seems to be an 
expensive option. Would that cost be absorbed by a rise in tuition or 
something else? And who pays for the counseling/therapy? This just 
fee! ls so intrusive to me. Our right to privacy seems to dissolve 
more and more every day.

 From PubliusX:

Parents have the right to choose. The information presented here will 
help them make the right choice. For me, that would be to change schools.

 From JB-Cleve:

This is an excellent idea it gives every student a good reason to say 
"sorry I can't do it I have to pass a drug test". The one unfortunate 
consequence I see is the students will increase alcohol use which 
cannot be detected by the hair test. The three month look-back period 
will kill their summer fun. I predict a lot of shaved heads in school 
in the fall.

 From gimpyegl04:

I went to St. Ed and have plenty of friends that went to Iggy (by 
virtue of going to XU), and I can say unequivocally that this will 
hurt both schools. Between pot (Eds) and cocaine (Iggy), there will 
be a lot of students being disciplined. I say "disciplined" instead 
of "treated" because that is simply the catholic style. Although, 
that may be different now that JK and Danny B are running the 
respective shows; both leaders of these institutions are a bit more 
understanding than their orthodox predecessors. However, the general 
premise of these young men being at these institutions is to be held 
to a higher standard, so I'm not entirely against the testing

Twitter was also abuzz with reaction.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom