COLUMN: COLLEGE INVADES STUDENTS' RIGHTS

Students at Linn State Technical College were met with a new and
unnecessary drug testing policy on Sept 7. The tests will be included
in student fees at a cost of $50 and will test for 11 drugs, including
marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Even if it is a technical college, using a drug test to determine
whether someone should be able to attend school is creating a barrier
to education that has nothing to do with a person's ability to excel
in a particular career specialization.

Instead of using that money to pay for drug tests, the money could be
used towards improving other aspects of the school. I think some of
the fees that students already have to pay are unnecessary and just a
way for the school to get more money.

"I don't think colleges should use drug screens on students for
admissions," Aerolyn Shaw, senior public relations major, said. "It
would lengthen the admissions process as well as possibly increase the
application fee among other fees."

According to school leaders, the tests are necessary for student
safety since some coursework includes aircraft maintenance.

According to Alan Zagier, writer for the Huffington Post, the
decisions to invoke this policy have rubbed some people the wrong way,
who call it "a constitutional violation of the Fourth Amendment
protection against unlawful searches and seizures, an invasion of
privacy and a likely lawsuit target."

A week later after its introduction, a federal judge temporarily
suspended the school from drug testing when the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) of Eastern Missouri filed suit on Sept. 14 on
behalf of six students at Linn State Technical College.

Richard Pemberton, associate dean of Student Affairs, said results
from a survey the school conducted show that hundreds of local
employers are overwhelming supportive of a requirement which these
same students will encounter in the job market.

Although it seems like the school is trying to prepare its students
for something they will encounter when they have to go out in the
world and use their skills to get a job, some people may not even be
able to attend school to learn what they need to get a job in the
first place with this policy.

If a student tests positive, they will be allowed to stay in school,
but on probation, and must test clean after 45 days while also doing
an online drug-prevention course. If they test negative the next time
they are tested, they will remain on probation until the conclusion of
the semester and will be subject to a random follow-up test.

Drugs are bad, but the consequences that people have to face, like
probation or possible expulsion from school because of the abuse,
shouldn't coincide with their education. You can't get very far in
life without an education. Teachers, faculty members and adults who
have already gone out into the job market know this--so why keep our
generation of students and future generations from getting the same,
or better opportunities?