SOME PARENTS JUST SAY NO TO DRUG TESTING AT MID-PACIFIC

Some parents at Mid-Pacific Institute are trying to block a plan to
start testing students for drug use, but officials say they expect the
voluntary program to begin in January and that anyone who does not
like it can opt out.

Parents Against Drug Testing will hold a meeting at the private school
in Manoa tomorrow night to discuss the proposal and offer
alternatives. Under the plan, students would be tested only if they
and their parents consent.

The idea got mostly rave reviews when unveiled in late September at a
parents' meeting, where it was championed by Prosecutor Peter
Carlisle, a Mid-Pac parent, and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona. But
opposition appears to be growing. At an open forum held on campus last
week, some parents expressed concerns about student privacy, false
positives and whether such testing is needed or appropriate.

"It sounds like you're committed to this. What would it take to change
your mind?" asked parent Andy Bumatai, who spoke out strongly against
the plan.

"What would it take not to do it?" responded Mid-Pacific President Joe
Rice. "Nobody signs up."

Rice said later that the school would not make a final decision until
the end of this week, and he was still listening to opinions on the
subject. Unless administrators are persuaded otherwise, testing of
either urine or saliva would begin on campus in January, he said. An
independent laboratory would report individual results to parents, not
the school.

"The question that comes to me all the time is, Why are you guys doing
this? Is there a real drug problem at Mid-Pac?" high school Principal
Rich Schaffer told parents last week. "My answer is, Society has a
drug problem. ... Peer pressure is enormous. We've seen some of our
best kids go down the tubes because of the 'ice' epidemic."

Schaffer said the program would be part of the school's efforts at
prevention and education. Some parents are eager to sign up, seeing
testing as a way to help their kids resist pressures to experiment.

"I think it's a good idea," said Mike Fuke, whose son is a junior. "It
forces parents to talk to their kids about drugs. It provides kids
another tool to address the issue. Even though the parents may talk to
their kids a lot, at this high school age, sometimes the peers have
more influence than the parents. Whatever tools I can give my child to
say no, I think is a good thing."

But parent Karen Corpuz has reservations.

"No. 1 is the privacy issue," she said after the meeting. "No. 2, I'm
really saddened that we as a society are used to using fear as a weapon."

Parents E.J. and Lerisa Heroldt are organizing tomorrow's meeting,
which will feature medical, legal and academic professionals in the
field.

Roughly 1,170 students in grades 6 through 12 at Mid-Pacific would be
eligible for testing. The issue is a hot topic on campus and dominates
the current issue of the student newspaper, Na Pueo. Interviews with
several students revealed mixed feelings.

"My personal opinion is that I don't think it's necessary per se, and
I don't think that people who truly have problems are being targeted,"
said senior Kari Peterson, adding that studies show drug testing in
schools to be "completely ineffective" as a deterrent. "I don't see
how the school is going to conduct this without people being aware of
it. I don't think students should be ostracized."

C.J. Fleischmann, a junior, said he thought voluntary testing was a
good idea because it would get parents and students to talk about
drugs. But he added: "My parents don't think it's a very good idea.
They trust me."

The test would be a standard five-way screen for marijuana, cocaine,
opiates, amphetamines and PCP, but not for alcohol because it
dissipates quickly. Rice hopes to finance the program through
donations from foundations or corporations. Otherwise, the school
could use federal Drug-Free Schools money it receives via the state,
he said.