SO YOU WANT TO START DRUG TESTING HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES?

Drug testing just student-athletes is a dopey thing to
do.

Go ahead, but you better collect samples from a few others around
campus as well. Let's get the band involved, the academic Olympians
too and even the teachers.

I have some problems with drug testing kids in general, but that's not
really the issue here.

The problem here is separating student-athletes from the rest of the
school population for the purpose of random drug testing. That's the
plan for the SATURN (Student-Athlete Testing Using Random
Notification), a three-year federal study by the Oregon Health
Sciences University that will include high school students in
Creswell, McKenzie and Oakridge.

Those schools and possibly more than 20 others will participate in the
study, which aims to find out if drug testing students results in
decreased drug use.

That's a valid idea, but the way the study is being done is flawed.
Singling out student-athletes for testing just brings up bad
stereotypes.

There has always been this macho-jock image of student-athletes,
something often portrayed in bad movies or television shows. The star
athlete shows up at the party, wows the crowd with his appearance,
heads to the bar and then drives home drunk.

Fortunately, if you hang around kids these days, that is hardly the
picture that comes into focus.

Even the idea of the student body idolizing the star athlete is
fading, as the kids don't step out of the way to let the star
quarterback pass through the hallway. Spend the day in any school, and
I challenge you to pick out the kid scoring 20 points per basketball
game from the rest of the students.

That type of atmosphere is good for all involved. By separating the
athletes for drug testing, the schools create a more segregated
situation in the schools, which we don't need.

So I don't buy it when Dr. Linn Goldberg of OHSU says "everyone in the
school tends to look up to the athletes ... so if the athletes are
held to a higher standard, other students may decide that's the
standard they also want to meet."

Certainly there is some peer pressure in schools, but that doesn't
factor into every decision.

Most kids are able to set their own standard, and it's the one they've
learned at home and from their friends, whether athletes or
non-athletes.

Drugs are a problem among kids today, and that point was reinforced to
me during a recently televised Town Hall meeting on the subject.
During the show, I was somewhat awed by the casual manner a collection
of students had when discussing how easy it is to obtain drugs at school.

However, the problem is there regardless of what activities the
student is involved in.

Remember the earlier challenge to walk through school and pick out the
high-scoring basketball player. It's just as difficult to walk in and
pick out the drug user.

Oh, a lot of adults think they can point out the user by the way he or
she dresses, talks, or just hangs around, but you can't.

I remember a friend in high school who used to ride a skateboard, wear
Sex Pistols T-shirts, and stick wood glue in his hair to make it spike
up about six inches above his head. At first glance, he looked like
your stereotypical troublemaker.

Actually, he was the valedictorian.

So, put all prejudices away and treat each kid equally.

If a school district thinks this is a worthwhile study - and the three
local ones involved obviously do - then include the whole student body.

While the popular stereotypes have the athletes as the ones to look at
for drugs, there is another theory that disputes that.

There are a number of coaches and administrators who will tell you
that a kid involved in extracurricular activities is less likely to
get involved in drugs. I tend to agree with that opinion, for numerous
reasons.

Kids who stay busy have less free time to waste getting
stoned.

Athletes are also highly competitive and want to succeed to the best
of their ability, which means staying in top shape. Obviously, drugs
interfere with that.

Also, athletes have more to lose than most students. Getting caught
usually results in banishment from a team, which can be devastating to
an athlete.

So, just who is doing drugs around our high school
campuses?

I don't know, but if you want to find out through drug testing, don't
exclude anyone.