DORM SEARCH AT DUMMER SPAWNS STUDENT PROTESt

More than half of Governor Dummer Academy's 372 students staged a sit-in
yesterday at the private high school to protest recent searches for drugs
and alcohol in dorm rooms.

A student leader said students were upset about the upheaval to their rooms
and that school officials searched some rooms more than others. School
officials said they found alcohol or marijuana in 10 rooms by the end of
searches Tuesday night. They combed dozens of rooms in all 10 dormitories
at the school, which is located in Byfield, 33 miles north of Boston.
Students began their sit-in in the performing arts center at 7:45 a.m., and
many stayed for the entire school day, said Judith Klein, a spokeswoman for
the academy. Protesters said they were more upset with the search methods
than with the searches. The sit-in was peaceful, students and school
officials said. "Everyone understands why the search had to go on," said
Julie O'Shaughnessy, student body president. "But each dorm was searched
differently. Rooms were left a mess."

After the sit-in, the administration invited students to ask questions and
voice concerns.

"Some students were disturbed that the search occurred at all," Klein said.
"Some just had a lot of questions about why the administration felt the
need to do this."

After the meeting, administrators apologized to students for not setting
standards for the search, said O'Shaughnessy, a senior. The school
conducted the searches because parents and students had been com plaining
about drug and alcohol use in the dorms, occupied by about two-thirds of
the students, said John M. Doggett Jr., the school's headmaster. "I think
when the meeting ultimately dispersed everyone had a clear understanding,
and we can go forward as a community," Doggett said.