STAND UP FOR RIGHTS

I would like to respond to a letter "Drug-Testing Debate" (A-J, 3-2). As I
understand the drug-testing policy, all students must take the test at the
beginning of the year. This is where the letter writer is wrong. Students
should not have to take a drug test just because they attend school. It is
not a crime to attend school, it is the law.

As far as the refusal being likened unto the DPS Breathalyzer test ... wrong
again.

Just as a police officer can't stop you and give you a Breathalyzer test
just because you're driving; the school should not be able to give drug
tests just because a student is following the law and attending school.

Without probable cause (i.e., smell, erratic driving, etc.) the police can't
force you to take a Breathalyzer and if they did I can bet we would be
reading about rights being "impinged" upon then. Students in our school
systems should not be treated any different.

I don't remember where I heard this, but it is something to think about: If
you do not stand up for the rights of others when they are being taken away,
who will be there to stand up for your rights when yours are being taken
away.

A.J. CASANOVA, Lubbock Via e-mail