HIGH SCHOOL DRUG RAIDS ARE INSULT TO STUDENTS

On May 27, students at Immaculata High School were locked in their
classrooms while the Ottawa police and a dog from the K-9 unit searched
lockers and individual students for marijuana.

This "lockdown," a term appropriated from the federal penitentiary system,
is conducted under the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board's policy known
as the safe schools code of conduct -- secure school protocol.

It is based solely upon suspicion, and persecutes students in ensuring what
the school refers to as "discipline." The objective is to keep school a
"crime-free zone" as all public, private or residential places should be,
while at the same time doing so "with respect and civility."

While the police broke into lockers suspected of containing marijuana, the
sniffer dog entered classrooms and was encouraged to sniff students'
chairs. If the scent of marijuana was detected, the student was called into
the class and physically searched.

I was assured by one teacher that classes were picked at random; however,
another faculty member told me that alternative and applied classes are
usually targeted.

Afterwards, no explanation was given to the students about what had happened.

Why does our school have no trust in or respect for its students? Under
Canadian law, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so this procedure
is in direct contradiction of that.

It is also a waste of police resources to have officers and dogs pursuing
minor crimes. There is a possibility of errors that would lead to someone
being wrongfully accused. That happened in 2002 at a high school in
Orleans, when a Grade 10 student's jacket was sniffed out by the dog.
Although no marijuana was found, the boy was suspended and the infraction
recorded.

Marijuana is a substance already used widely by Canadians. I believe that
marijuana should not be used during school hours, but I also believe in
students' right to privacy and lifestyle choice. Rather than offering a
safe and stimulating environment to students, many of whom are troubled or
a little bored, the school board has created a hostile environment of fear.

Maggie Euteneier, 17, Ottawa