SUPREME COURT

Ruling On Drug Testing Makes Sense

I would like to respond to Dustin Boucher's July 7 letter titled, "Supreme
Court: Recent decision should scare us all." The only court decisions that
should scare us all are the one's coming from the liberal 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals. I only thank God that the majority of the Supreme Court
is conservative enough to apply common sense, rather than misguided liberal
ideologies.

In reference to drug testing he states, "Such action is no different than
the police searching your home without a warrant." I hope this isn't what
Mr. Boucher is teaching his students, because if he is, they are in for a
rude awakening when they get out in the real world. Read the classified
section of this newspaper and see how many jobs require drug testing as a
condition to employment. If you don't want to get drug tested, don't apply
for the job - or if you're in school don't get involved in extracurricular
activities.

Our schools are practically war zones, and drugs are the primary reason.
Rather than teaching his students what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote,
he should try reading them Justice Clarence Thomas' opinion to the court.

His opinion included the following: "A student's privacy interest is
limited in a public school environment where the State is responsible for
maintaining discipline, health and safety. Schoolchildren are routinely
required to submit to physical examinations and vaccinations against
disease ... Securing order in the school environment sometimes requires
that students be subjected to greater controls than those appropriate for
adults.

DEAN PECKHAM

Arlington