STUDENTS PAY TO ATTEND, NOT GET PAID

To the Editor:

In the Sept. 4 issue of The Appalachian, Will Gillespie announced his view
that all students should be tested for drugs as a prerequisite for
obtaining eligibility to attend Appalachian State University. This, Mr.
Gillespie stated, "would prepare students for the real world." I do not
use, nor do I advocate the use of narcotics, but Gillespie's idea is
disturbing nonetheless.

While it is true that in the real world people are tested for narcotics, it
is also true that in the real world people are paid to show up everyday. At
a university the opposite is true. The students pay to come here. Mr.
Gillespie misses that crucial difference between college and his so-called
"real world." In the real world time spent on the job is the employer's
time. At a university, time spent on campus is the student's choice. If the
use is excessive and problematic then students will have to face the music
in the form of lower grades and ultimately less job opportunities in life.

That's as real world as you can get, Mr. Gillespie. Let's assume that the
vast majority of those mature enough to see the value of a college
education are also mature enough to show self-control without it being
shoved down their throat.