DRUG POLICY HAS LITTLE OPPOSITION

Cathedral High School has positioned itself to be the first school in Texas
to implement a policy to randomly test its student body for drugs,
officials said during a special meeting Wednesday. Cathedral, an all-boys
Catholic school, will begin testing in March with about 10 percent of all
students --who will need to submit hair samples to the school nurse or face
disciplinary action that could include expulsion.

"We're attacking something that's evil, something that's dirty, something
that's wrong, that's been with us for a long, long time," said Principal
Sam Govea as he addressed scores of parents in the high school's gym. "What
we want to offer here at Cathedral High School is a drug-free school."

Govea said Cathedral had not observed any particular drug problem among its
students, and that it made its decision to conduct drug testing as a way to
address communitywide illegal drug use.

"We are confident that the students will prove to be drug-free," he said.

Students, who will be tested for marijuana, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine
and hallucinogens, will be called in for a parent-teacher conference if
they test positive a first time. If there is a second offense, the student
may be asked to leave Cathedral.

There has been some controversy regarding the hair analysis Cathedral plans
to use. Some believe that dark, thick hair retains more traces of drugs
than thin, blonde hair, though no studies have demonstrated this concern.

Many parents and students Wednesday spoke in favor of drug testing, saying
that encouraging young people to stay away from drugs outweighs any privacy
issues.

"I'm for it," said Sandra Saucedo, who has two sons at Cathedral, who both
participate in student government. "I'm not afraid of anything, and if my
sons were found with anything, I'd like to know it."

Others, though, objected to the new policy on the grounds that the school
did not have the authority to force its students to participate in random
drug testing.

"I love Cathedral, but my son is a minor," said Jackie Puccetti, whose son
is a sophomore. "I don't believe any institution or individual has a right
to test a minor, because a parent is ultimately responsible for the
upbringing of their children."

Puccetti said that if parents want to test their children for drugs, they
could simply go to a physician without involving the school.

"If he should be randomly tested, I'm not going to pull him out of school,"
she said. "Yes, it's an invasion of privacy."

Carl Starr, vice president of the El Paso chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union, attended the meeting and said Cathedral's drug policy
opens the door for other interpretations of privacy issues at schools.

"I understand it's a private school, but in the public sector the Supreme
Court has ruled that it's a search," he said. "Where will they stop? Will
they start going into lockers? Which of the Bill of Rights is next?"

El Paso lawyer Maria Hernandez, who works with the ACLU, said Cathedral
High School will need to conduct itself without hypocrisy to ensure that
the test is fair and needs to be careful with the test's implementation. "I
don't think it says much about trust," she said. "Some people might feel
that it isn't anybody's business if they're taking prescription drugs."

Chief Justice Richard Barajas of the Texas 8th Circuit Court of Appeals,
who teaches government at Cathedral, said the government has taken no
action to implement the policy, so there is no question about its legality.

"Generally, any time we do anything to ensure that our students have a
drug-free learning environment, I think it's a good thing," he said. "Much
to my surprise, I haven't heard much from the students."

Michael Huereque, a junior at Cathedral High School, said he was unsure
about the new drug policy. He said that although it doesn't seem right that
the school can randomly drug test, the policy may provide students with an
excuse to stay clean.

"I'm kind of 50-50 on the issue," he said. "I think the moral part of it
outweighs our rights."