AFFECTS OTHERS

Privacy is important to everyone, but when you live in a small town,
it doesn't exist. Everyone knows everybody else's business even if
they're not supposed to. By moving into a small town, you are
surrounding yourself with eyes and gossip.

Parents instinctively protect not only their young, but also others
they care about. In a tiny town, people are often related or simply
close to one another. You can't say, "It is not their right or
business to monitor other people's children" when your environment is
so close-knit.

I agree that people have personal responsibilities as citizens and as
parents. When it comes to the health and safety of the children,
parents should look out for all of them and not just their own.
Privacy is a major issue, but so are drugs. It is less painful to give
up a portion of your privacy than to slowly die.

I believe all students should be drug tested because the school is
interdependent. What one person does affects others.

LINDSEY RESSMANN

Editor's Note: These letters were submitted by
students in Melanie Ragland's journalism class at
Hawley High School in response to Jim Parker's Jan. 24
letter to the editor, "Hawley drug testing invasion of privacy."