Wisconsin Views

Opinions from the editorial pages of Wisconsin newspapers:

STANDING UP AGAINST DRUGS

A new organization being formed at Fort Atkinson High School will require
students joining it to submit to random drug testing.

Members of Students Tested Against Nicotine and Drugs (STAND) will pledge
not take drugs, to be randomly tested for substances such as cigarettes,
marijuana, cocaine and heroine and to turn in fellow members seen using
drugs or alcohol.

In exchange, they will receive discounts on everything from entertainment
to merchandise from local retailers. More than 40 businesses have already
either offered discounts or given a donation to cover the cost of the
testing through Fort Atkinson Memorial Health Services. Contributions and a
$2,000 grant from the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation have pushed STAND
near its $4,000 fundraising goal.

STAND's members are modeling a concept at Oconomowoc High School.
Specifically, they will be tested with parental permission when they
join and then randomly after that. If a student tests positive, he or she
loses access to discounts and other privileges for one month and the
athletic director and a counselor will be called. After a second failed
test, members lose their privileges for two months and must see a counselor.

STAND members say they will be encouraged to turn members in if they see
them using drugs, as well as question nonmembers why they will not join up.
STAND hopes its ''reverse peer pressure'' will lead classmates to reject
alcohol and drugs or to quit using them altogether.

We applaud Fort Atkinson's teenagers for standing up to a problem that is,
indeed, growing in Fort Atkinson. So far in 1997, police have made 38
drugrelated arrests of youths 18yearsold and younger for actual
possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia such as bongs and
pipes. That's up from 22 arrests in all of last year. In addition, a survey
last year showed that only onethird of Jefferson County students in grades
712 feel they're good at resisting alcohol, drugs and other negative
activities.

However, we must offer two caveats. First, recognizing students who vow to
be drugfree is admirable, especially in this day and age. But there are
sure to be classmates who are ''clean'' yet refuse to join STAND because
they believe random testing violates their right to privacy. As STAND
recruits new members, it must be careful that the burden of proof does not
unfairly fall on those who, for whatever reason, exercise that freedom of
choice to not participate.

We also have concerns about situations that might arise in which a student
taking prescription medications tests positive for drugs. In Oconomowoc,
after which STAND is modeling its effort, such students are retested. But
even the smallest of leaks about the first test results being questioned
could damage the teen's reputation. STAND must work diligently to ensure
that its members, in their zeal, do not jump to incorrect conclusions.

Standing up against alcohol and drugs certainly will not be an easy thing
for some Fort Atkinson students to do. But even more difficult than taking
the pledge, we believe, will be working to keep the group's mission in
perspective so that no student is found guilty through nonassociation.

We wish STAND well in both endeavors.
Daily Jefferson County Union, Fort Atkinson.