SCHOOL DRUG SEARCH HAD A HIGH COST, WITH LITTLE BENEFIT

I am a student at Oconee County High School. The drug sweep that took place
at school last week shocked me. It is a violation of our Fourth Amendment
rights protecting people from unlawful search and seizure.

Or, does that not apply to students? Are we inferior citizens? In our
civics class, we learn about our constitutional rights but we do not seem
to be protected by them. That seems wrong to me.

The goal of attending school is to become better informed and aware
citizens. Instead, we are force fed information in a prison-like
environment subject to random searches for contraband.

On Tuesday, March 12, at the beginning of first period, the principal made
an announcement that we were now under lock down procedure and that no one
was allowed to leave the classroom. All the doors in the school were locked
and no one could move anywhere. Then, toward the end of the period,
Principal Mark Channell unlocked the door to our classroom and asked us to
leave our book bags and coats in the room and file out into the hall. The
two agents from RAIDS Corps. and Mr. Channell proceeded to search the room
without probable cause. We were not allowed to leave our classrooms for 45
minutes after first period was supposed to be over.

All of this -- an unconstitutional search, a significant expenditure of
money and 1,700 students losing 45 minutes of instructional time -- so that
two people could be apprehended on misdemeanor charges of possession of
marijuana. This hardly made a dent in the drug problem at the school. I am
not sure what the answer is, but these searches accomplish little at a high
price!

Brian Kennedy

PROTECTING KIDS FROM DRUGS ISN'T WORTH SACRIFICING RIGHTS

Reading the March 13 article, titled "High school locked down for drug
search," I can't help but be ashamed at the incredible low our country has
come to, thanks to this misguided "War on Drugs."

Random searches (for drugs or any other purpose) are not only demeaning,
but also highly unconstitutional. It undermines a very basic principle of
our great nation: "Innocent until proven guilty."

Children deserve to have their rights respected in the same way as any
adult. If you treat a kid like a criminal, you can be sure that they will
grow up to be one! A much better policy is to treat them with dignity and
respect.

In their rush to "protect the children," I think we sometimes forget that
kids are people, too.

Adam Wiggins

Pasadena, Calif.