STUDENTS FIND DIALOGUE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN DRUG TESTING

As someone who just reached the legal drinking age nine months ago, I
can tell you firsthand that a high level of surveillance doesn't make
young people safer. And on the topic of student drug testing, the
experts agree: Random testing does not effectively reduce drug use
among young people.

The first large-scale national study on student drug testing,
published last April by University of Michigan researchers, found that
there was no correlation between a school's use of drug testing and
the level of reported drug use among its students. That's why I'm
surprised that President Bush wants to offer $23 million to schools
for drug testing.

At my high school -- the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science in
Denton, one of the country's few public boarding schools -- we were
constantly under the purview of administrators and surveillance
cameras. All 400 students followed strictly enforced curfews. We
couldn't open our windows without approval, and the screens had
stickers designed to reveal any escapes from our high-security dorm.
Our rooms were searched randomly with bureaucratic regularity;
students suspected of drinking were given Breathalyzer tests. One
positive test result or an empty beer can was grounds for immediate
expulsion.

Strict Doesn't Mean Safe

You might think that we were the safest students in north Texas. But
you'd be wrong. I knew classmates who drove drunk or high because they
had no one to call who could pick them up in time to meet our strict
curfew. Instead of opening up an honest dialogue, administrators
enforced a strict no-tolerance policy, giving us the impression that
we couldn't talk to them about alcohol or other drugs.

Thousands of students are subjected to drug-sniffing dogs,
surveillance cameras in hallways and testing of their urine, hair or
sweat. Some have to deal with even more traumatic measures. In
November, for example, 14 police officers stormed a South Carolina
high school in a commando-style drug raid. After detaining and
searching 107 students at gunpoint, the police found no drugs. This
search was based on the same "guilty-until-proved-innocent" logic by
which we gradually surrender our constitutional rights for policies
that don't actually make us safer.

Now Bush wants to expand drug testing. In his recent State of the
Union speech, Bush cited an 11% drop in drug use among high school
students in the past two years, crediting student drug testing with a
significant role in this decline. But the University of Michigan
study, partially funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found
no difference in rates of drug use between schools that have
drug-testing programs and those that do not. In fact, its authors
found that 95% of schools do not test students randomly for drugs,
making it unlikely that drug testing played a substantial role in the
decrease Bush cited.

Testing Popularized

Drug testing without cause for suspicion has become more popular since
a 2002 Supreme Court ruling upheld an Oklahoma school district's right
to randomly test those students who wished to participate in
competitive extracurricular activities.

For the past year and a half, John Walters, director of the U.S.
Office of National Drug Control Policy, along with the rapidly
expanding drug-testing industry, has been busy promoting drug testing
as the "silver bullet" to prevent drug use and keep kids safe. But
such testing only would humiliate students and undermine their
relationships with their teachers and coaches.

What really would make young people safer -- and what kids sincerely
want -- are adults who will listen to them. A 1997 study by University
of Minnesota researchers revealed that students are less likely to use
drugs when they have close relationships with their parents and teachers.

Although I couldn't talk openly with my high school administrators, my
father and I had a very trusting relationship. He was always there for
me, whether I had questions about drugs or just needed a ride home
from a party where there were no designated drivers. That bond made me
much safer than any drug test would.