STUDENTS DON'T OBJECT TO RULING ALLOWING WIDER TESTING FOR DRUGS

Derry Area High School Band Member Jeff Alsippi Says He Has Nothing To Hide

Alsippi plays tenor saxophone in the high school's marching band. It's only
fair, he said, that band members - as well as all other students involved
in extracurricular activities - be tested for drug use if the school's
student athletes also are subject to random tests.

"I agree with the Supreme Court," said Alsippi, 16, of Derry. "If you
represent your school, you should be tested - even if it's for the county
chorus. (Drug use) hits everyone, everywhere."

The Supreme Court ruled last week that school districts may require
students to submit to drug tests if they participate in nonathletic
activities in which they compete against other schools. Thursday's 5-4
decision expands on a 1995 ruling that allowed schools to test student
athletes.

After that decision, school officials in Belle Vernon Area and Derry Area
implemented drug-testing programs, joining about 5 percent of the nation's
schools.

Belle Vernon Area Superintendent Dr. Charles Chandler Jr. said taking the
district's program to the "next level would be a positive thing."

"It's certainly something to discuss with the board, and if they want to
expand it, that's fine," Chandler said.

Belle Vernon Area's student athletes have been tested randomly for drug use
since 1996. The primary goal at that time, Chandler said, was to test for
anabolic steroids.

"It turned out that steroids was a nonissue," he said.

Chandler wouldn't comment on the number of students who have tested
positive for drug use but said the program has been worth the money and time.

And if testing more students - such as those in the band and on the debate
team - would deter drug use, it's worth the effort, he added.

At Derry Area, where Alsippi is entering his senior year, two male athletes
tested positive for marijuana last year, said athletic director David
McNichol. In 1998, the district began testing about 20 percent of its
athletes each season.

Only two positive tests among 400 administered give a "clear indication
that something is going right," McNichol said.

"But some kids, I'm sure, are playing Russian roulette," he said. "It's not
saying that they aren't doing drugs in this school, because kids are doing
drugs everywhere."

The computer that spits out a randomly generated list of Derry Area
students selected junior Neal McClarren last year. McClarren, 17, plays
volleyball and basketball and runs cross country. When he was selected to
give a urine sample, he wasn't nervous or upset, he said.

And he didn't see it as an invasion of privacy - one of the leading
arguments made against testing students.

"(Using drugs) really isn't a private thing," he said. "(Testing) is a good
thing and probably does stop students from using. Anything that has to do
with school clubs should be subject to tests."

Jacob Hoone, 16, of Derry, said the marching band travels with the football
team and cheerleaders. It makes public appearances during halftime shows
and parades. Band members, said Hoone, an incoming senior, should be held
to the same standards as athletes. Hoone runs cross country and track and
is a member of the Future Educators of America.

Testing "won't scare anyone away," he said. "If they are dedicated to their
sport or activity, then they'll be determined to still join the activity -
unless they are really addicted or a big user."

In that case, Hoone said, students can't represent the school well. Showing
up at school or activities "messed up is not helping out anyone," he said.

Recent Franklin Regional High School graduate Lisa Woodrow, 18, said
administrators often know what's going on and who is using drugs.

"But they really can't do much about it," said Woodrow, of Export. "If
students really want to sign up for an activity, they have a choice. (The
decision) is a way to make the schools safer and have more freedom to test."

That's how Mt. Pleasant Area Superintendent Don Tylisky sees drug testing.
The court's ruling, he said, provides another tool to help. Students aren't
tested in Mt. Pleasant Area, but the district works with several community
agencies in prevention programs.

"Drug use seems to be on the rise everywhere," said Tylisky, who began
working for the district in March. "I don't think it should be just
athletes but all students. I think - hope - the next step is to target all
students."

The Supreme Court decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, said a
school's interest in keeping students safe justifies any perceived invasion
of privacy.

Ligonier Valley High School junior David Poerschke agreed. The school takes
on a custodial role toward students, he said, and should be responsible for
what students involved in activities do.

"There would be some students (for whom) getting caught would be something
to brag about," said Poerschke, 16, a varsity swimmer and member of the
academic quiz and debate teams. "But for someone who is tested and involved
in something like student government, getting caught would be a real blow."

In the Greensburg Salem School District, drug testing has not been
considered, said Superintendent Thomas Yarabinetz. It's up to the school
board to initiate random drug tests, but as far as Yarabinetz knows, there
are no plans to do so in the near future.

Even if students other than athletes were to be tested, Yarabinetz said,
such a policy "doesn't involve the problem of drugs in general."

Drug testing is controversial, he said, because students and parents may
question whether the tests indicate bias toward particular student groups.

Greensburg Salem employs other methods of fighting drug use in its schools,
Yarabinetz noted. The district brought in police officers with dogs that
are trained to sniff out illegal substances, he said.

As a result, several students have been caught with marijuana and charged
with possession. It's an operation Yarabinetz said administrators plan to
continue, along with the district's partnerships with the St. Vincent
Prevention Project and other community agencies.