MANDATORY DRUG TESTS

According to Debra Saunders, parents "shouldn't expect schools to do their
dirty work for them" by mandating drug testing for students wishing to
participate in extra-curricular activities. While I think adherence to the
Constitution is what allows our country to thrive through changing times, I
also balk at the implication Saunders makes that the individual's right to
choose to do drugs ought to pre-empt a teacher's responsibility to
facilitate a scintillating and productive educational atmosphere. Let's not
forget that the majority of high school students are legal minors whose
well-being is entrusted to adults - parents and teachers.

I hardly think that making a mandatory drug test for minors (who shouldn't
be doing drugs in the first place) is an infringement on their
constitutional rights. Students who do drugs have neither the right to be
doing them in the first place nor the right to endanger the learning
potential of their fellow classmates through their risky behavior. The
primary objective of educators is ... education.

Let's just say that at best, it is difficult to promote an academically
enriching environment if teachers must combat drug usage.

Before we decide to claim injustice for requiring drug testing for minors,
we should recall that employers can require drug tests for potential employees.

Shouldn't teachers be allowed to expect a healthy "working" environment the
same as any other professional? I certainly wish there wasn't a need for
drug testing, but as a former NCAA Division I athlete who had to submit to
random drug testing (i.e., testing done without probable cause) and as a
current educator, I do think that we have a social obligation to our youth
- - our nation's future - to hold them accountable for behavior that is
dangerous and unacceptable. Heaven forbid that we challenge our youth to
make good, healthy, life-promoting decisions, by teaching them that
"rights" go hand in hand with responsibility.

CAROLINE MARINO

Junior High Teacher

Nativity School