Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Andria Graeler
Zavaglia
American Lit. 1
15 October 2010
Five percent of school districts test students for drugs, and most of those schools test
athletes only (“Welcome”). Arguments have ensued on whether drug testing violates the students
Fourth Amendment, or if school officials have the authority to demand such tests. Various
schools test all students; others test only extra-curricular involved students. Should there even be
testing at all? This is the question on the minds of the schools of America. Based upon the
Athletes, musicians, and other club members should not be singled out because of their
desire to be involved. Students are singled out enough in school, and the last thing they need is to
be isolated, in a sense, in an environment that causes them enjoyment. By drug testing those
students, their environment that they love dissolves into a nervous environment. Segregation and
discrimination can be seen in this case. Drug testing has been implemented upon students
because they have been said to look “suspicious”. In the Larry v. Lockney case, a case of a small
town farmer went up against the Lockney school board, the final ruling cast out mandatory drug
testing in Lockney. The town then changed its policy to testing voluntary students and those
“who appear to be under the influence of drugs” (Larry v. Lockney). The question of what
constitutes the appearance of being under the influence of drugs now comes into play. It is all a
matter of opinion of whether someone looks high or not. Consequently, it is an invalid reason to
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test students because they look shifty. Such happenings in extra-curricular activities place stress
and pressure on these students, which in turn, affects their performances. Extra-curricular
participants are held to the standard to do well for their school. Stress and nervousness take away
their ability to be one hundred percent focused on their goals. From a biochemical standpoint,
when any person is nervous anxiety shuts down their brain in a sense (Coach Peterson). As a
result, if a student athlete is apprehensive because of a mandatory drug test, their ability to play
their sport decreases. Restlessness about drugs does not mean the nervous student is a drug user.
When CBC implemented their drug testing policy, a student, Patrick Holley, backs this statement
up. “Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was sweating. Even clean teens were nervous…
You’re on the spot. You’re being searched. Your personal life is being put on
display.”(Hunn).They cannot think clearly about the task at hand. This is similar to when
Others believe that students participating in athletics, music, and/or other clubs should be
tested to ensure public safety. If a student under the influence of drugs is taking part in an extra-
curricular activity, they do not have absolute control of their actions. The use of drugs causes the
user to become lethargic. Indolent athletes cannot possibly be focused fully on whatever sport
that are involved in. If students participating in extra-curricular activities influence upon their
peers about drugs, it decreases public safety. This relates to the control issue previously stated.
When under the influence of drugs, students do not only put their teammates in danger but the
entire public also. Schools stress so much about keeping their students safe; hence, they instate
drug testing to try to maintain that safety. One of their reasoning for drug testing is that students
will be less likely to do drugs because now they have a reason to say no. “To many parents, the
drug test is a ‘tool’ to provide students a reason to resist peer pressure to drink or do drugs” (The
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New York Times). Drugs endanger public safety for everyone in the community and not just
those around the drug user. If a person is high and they decide to go out and drive, they are
putting all other drivers and pedestrians on the roadside in danger. Operating a vehicle requires
control and awareness. Drugs of any kind put people’s minds in a fog, and they cannot
concentrate fully on driving. DUI does not only apply to driving under the influence of alcohol, it
also includes driving under the influence of drugs. Therefore it is just as much as a crime.
activities is that studies show that students involved in sports, music, and/or other clubs are less
likely to use drugs. Because of the pressure put on participants to stay clean, they choose not to
partake in drugs. This is much like one of the opposition’s debates. The opponents said that drug
testing is a preventive. Brother Daniel Poos of CBC states, “It’s a deterrent. It’s a way for kids to
say, ‘No.’” (Hunn).On the other hand, people argue that extra-curricular activities alone keep
kids from being associated with drugs. Athletes have a reason to say no. They know what is
healthy for them, and drugs are not one of those healthy things. It has been said that drug testing
is a deterrent; well, extra-curriculars are also a deterrent. Testing students who are not as
probable to drugs is useless. A lawyer for the National Drug Policy Litigation Project addresses
this. The Tecumseh School District went to court to get approval for testing their students who
took park in after-school programs. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Graham Boyd,
the previously mentioned lawyer, complained about the targeting of “students who are relatively
unlikely to use drugs.” His opinion was that their so called issue was not valid. (Jacques).
Schools trust their athletes, musicians, and other club members to compete their hardest, for this
reason they should have faith in their students to not use drugs.
Drug testing, in its mandatory form, is an infringement on the Fourth Amendment to the
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U.S. Constitution. The Amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, paper, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” In the
end, it seems that drug testing causes more harm than it helps. Singling out, anxiety, assumption
of distrust, the list could go on of the negative effects of drug tests. Drug testing has good points
too. It helps those who have problems with drugs to be helped, and it insures public safety.
Nevertheless, the devastating negative effects on the students out weight the positive ones.
Mandatory drug testing should not be allowed for exactly that reason.