RANDOM DRUG-TESTING IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Recently, government officials have been contemplating whether students who
attend public schools should be randomly drug-tested. I am shocked that this
approach to a perceived problem would be utilized. This clearly violates the
Bill of Rights, and I am saddened that a government agency would be the
instrument for this intrusion. I believe the venerable lieutenant governor
is misguided in his pursuit. If a student used drugs on his own time and off
campus, would this merit an investigation and perhaps a blemish on the
student's academic record? The job of the school administration is to
provide an environment that is conducive to learning. The school
administrators' main concerns should be violence on campus, the quality of
the teachers and teaching students to be critical thinkers.

How to deal with drug use is a quagmire that has plagued man for a
millennium. The supposition that random drug-testing of students will deter
drug use is uncertain, and, more importantly, is unconstitutional.

Mark A. Guerin

Honolulu