SUNDAY SOAPBOX: DRUG TESTING CAN BE DETERRENT TO USE, A HELP TO QUIT

To the editor:

Random drug testing in schools and universities is not only a good thing
but just makes sense. Of course, those who are using drugs are against this
policy, but it doesn't make sense that many of those who are not drug users
are against it as well. If these people are drug- free, then they have
nothing to worry about and thus should be proud to show that they are clean
of any drugs. Sure, some say that it is a waste of time or that it is
against his rights as a citizen, but the whole idea behind randomly testing
students and athletes is to help get those who use drugs a reason to stop
and those who may have tried using drugs a reason to never start.

Those who argue that drug testing should be banished give me the opinion
that they believe that drugs are great and good for you. We know that is
completely false. If anything, random drug testing is necessary because it
helps athletes as well as students to quit using because of the effects
that can result to their ability to perform. I participated in high school
and collegiate sports, and I was pleased that random drug testing was
enforced, because it helped me make the right choice to stay clean. My
ability came out more because of it. Drug testing is a great way to help
people say "no" to substances that will only hurt them as time passes.

Tim Garner

Evansville

APPROACH IS WHAT'S ABSURD

To the editor:

The Indiana Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for mandatory drug testing
of Indiana students. While keeping children off drugs is a worthy goal,
this approach, like the War on Drugs in general, is just plain absurd. If
the government cannot even keep drugs out of prisons, how is it going to
make a difference in schools? How big is the problem when schools cannot
even identify drug users without looking at their urine? Is it worth
discouraging students who need the positive influence of extracurricular
activities the most from participating for fear of the test? Is it worth
ruining lives with false positives? Do we really believe that students
cannot circumvent a drug test just as easily as adults do everyday? The
government apparently thinks it is its job, not the parents,' to raise
children. Yet all it is really doing is creating a society of suspects who
will not respect the laws or the authority figures who strip them of their
privacy, dignity and self-respect with these witch hunts. The U.S.
Congress, which is so supportive of such measures, struck down mandatory
tests for itself, saying they was "insulting and undignified." So why
should we subject our children to it? It would be nice if schools would
teach students about the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees the right to be
free from unreasonable, warrantless searches, instead of subjecting them to
unreasonable, warrantless searches.

Tom Tindle

Libertarian Party of Vanderburgh County

Evansville

TEST ALL STUDENTS FOR DRUGS

To the editor:

I do not believe that it is a violation of the constitutional rights of
students to be give random drug tests in school. Not only should athletes
be given drug tests, but this policy should be applied to all students.

I graduated from high school a couple of years ago, and while I was in high
school, I was an athlete, a member of many clubs and an honor student. I
know that there were student-athletes who used drugs but were not always
caught. Those students had the attitude that the drugs were OK, and that
they would continue to use them until they were caught. It was a rule of
the school and of all sports teams at the school that drugs were not
allowed on school grounds and drug use by students would not be tolerated.
Aren't student-athletes supposed to be role models and make their school
look good? I wanted not only my school and community to be proud of me, but
also to make my school look good. I had nothing to hide in high school and
would have been willing to take any drug test to prove it. Drug tests are
administered to find individuals who need help and to provide them with
help if there is a drug problem. Athletes are not allowed to use drugs, so
if there is a problem, then the privilege of participating in athletics
should be taken away from them because they do not deserve that privilege.
Most of the people who feel violated by drug testing are ashamed because
they would fail the drug test. Their guilt and shame are due to their
participation in illegal activities, and those illegal activities must be
stopped. Students who need help to eliminate their drug problems should be
helped. Random drug testing is a step in the right direction.

Mandy Williams

Evansville

RIGHT TO TEST ISN'T ENOUGH

To the editor:

I remember the story of a famous robber who, when asked why he robbed banks
replied, "That's where the money is." When talking about drug testing for
young people, the task is quickly assigned to the schools. That's where the
children are.

In an effort to keep some sense of civil-rights protection for the general
student body, we find those involved in extracurricular activities such as
sports, music or theater. Unlike attendance at school, these are activities
that students choose, and since they are not required to take part in them,
we say society has a right to demand drug tests of them.

While we will not demand a drug test for those who hang out on street
corners, drive up and down the streets or sit in front of television sets
and computers in homes with no parents, we will require it of students who
fill their after-school hours on athletic fields and in gyms, theaters and
music rooms of schools.

Are we trying to fix a school problem, or a problem in the community? Are
we asking schools to test students because it is a school problem, or
because that's where the students are? I suggest that if we test students
for drug use, we should relate it to behavior at school. A drug test could
be a condition to returning to school after a behavior-related suspension
or expulsion. I would suggest that schools have enough to do in teaching
reading, writing and math. If drugs are a problem in schools, then test
those who exhibit their abuse by inappropriate behavior. But let's not
randomly find groups of busy, talented, involved students and test them
merely because we have a right to do so.

Ken Meyer

New Harmony, Ind.

STUDENTS HAVE NO RIGHTS

To the editor:

When you ask if drug testing violates the students' constitutional rights,
I have to ask, what rights? As was determined in the Hazelwood School
District vs. Kuhlmeier case in 1988, students are actually deprived of all
their constitutional rights once upon school property. However, as Chief
Justice John Marshall (1755-1835) once said, "We must never forget that it
is the Constitution we are expounding ... intended to endure for ages to
come and, consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human
affairs." In other words, the adoption and stripping of constitutional
rights of students in a public school is and should be endured. Drug
testing on athletes and on drivers is only another step of well-intended
precautionary actions for the safety of students. The fact that rights have
been stripped is out of the matter, for if all rights were pertained to be
held in schools, students of legal age could have the right to bear arms in
a school facility.

Phillippe Andrew Seib

Student, Reitz High School

Evansville