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Thread: are students criminals?

  1. #1
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    are students criminals?

    Stop treating students like criminals
    by Ron Crickenberger


    What do convicted criminals have in common with American public high school students?

    Each can be forced to urinate into a paper cup at any time -- to "prove" they're drug free. Even if there's no evidence that they've ever used illegal drugs.

    Now the Supreme Court will decide, in a case heard on March 19, the constitutionality of subjecting public school students to random, warrantless drug tests as a prerequisite to participating in extracurricular activities.

    The case, Board of Education v. Earls, concerns an Oklahoma school district drug-testing policy. The school requires drug tests for students in grades 7-12 who want to participate in after-school events such as the chess club or the school band.

    The plaintiff, Lindsay Earls, was a high school sophomore trying out for the girls choir when she was asked to urinate into a paper cup as a teacher listened outside the bathroom stall.
    The experience was "humiliating," said Lindsay, who passed her test. Then she and two other students filed a lawsuit against the district because the search wasn't based on "individualized suspicion." A ruling is expected in July.

    But it gets worse. If the Bush administration has its way, soon every student in the USA's 14,700 public school systems -- not just those involved in extracurricular activities -- could be subject to drug searches.

    That's because the administration argued in a brief to the Supreme Court that every school should "have the flexibility to adopt reasonable measures, like the policy in this case." Note the word "reasonable." It means that schools should have the power to test any student, as long as school officials claim it is "reasonable."

    But there are good reasons for Americans to stand up and "just say no" to mass drug testing of students.

    It's unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches, clearly states that "no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause." The Constitution contains no exception for students.

    Thus, the government has no more right to compel a random urine sample from high school students than from high school principals, accountants, or even Supreme Court justices.
    What part of the phrase "probable cause" don't the Bush administration's legal experts understand?...

    Interestingly, in 1998 the U.S. House of Representatives quietly torpedoed a drug-testing proposal for themselves and their staffs because lawmakers protested that it was "insulting and undignified."

    http://www.lp.org/press/op-eds.php?f...view&record=28
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  2. #2
    AntiOnline Senior Member
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    Heh. IMO, thats so rediculous. Just taking away more freedom's that we deserve as American's.
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  3. #3
    AntiOnline Senior Member souleman's Avatar
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    Each can be forced to urinate into a paper cup at any time
    Criminals don't use paper cups. They use one of a few different types of plastic cups.

    I agree that random drug testing is wrong, but I hate it when people try to compare something like this to being a convicted criminal. I have heard many students say that their situation was "just like" or "worse then" being in prison. I will tell you that anyone making that statement is full of ****.
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  4. #4
    uraloony, why do you deserve freedom?

  5. #5
    AO Antique pwaring's Avatar
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    Hey, be grateful that you even *have* a constitution, over here in the UK all we have is the 'Human Rights Act'. And even that wasn't of our making, rather the European Union forced it upon us under the Treaty of Rome which means we have to accept things like that.

    I wouldn't be surprised if a similiar measure was imposed over here, since the government can now send you to prison for two years for not telling them the password to your own computer so they can snoop on it under the RIP act, things have got steadily worse. And now they have the perfect excuse for introducing any law that takes away your rights (especially privacy): September 11th. The government uses the suffering of thousands of people as a tool with which to meet their own political ends. All they have to do is say 'this bill is intended to protect the public from terrorists (but will actually take away your rights to free speech and privacy)' and it gets made into law.

    Absolutely disgusting if you ask me. I bet if we asked MPs (or your country's equivalent) to take random urine tests for drugs each time they entered the House of Commons they'd be up in arms.
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  6. #6
    Fastest Thing Alive s0nIc's Avatar
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    hmm i still think Pressident Bush is on a power trip..

  7. #7
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    OK, while I may not agree with some of this, I will say that this Lindsay girl would have to go through the exact same thing if she ever got a job. What's she going to do then? Sue Krogers? This is just bloody ridiculous. And for the record, I think anyone joining a chess club should be drug tested.

  8. #8
    All the Certs! 11001001's Avatar
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    Unfortunately, most civil rights somehow dissolve once you go into a school. The sad part is, there is no constitutional guarantee of a free education, which tends to let them do whatever they want to whomever they want.
    When I was in high school, a good friend of mine was arrested for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest when he stood on a chair in the cafeteria during lunch and started complaining about the lack of civil rights in public schools. He was subsequently suspended for two weeks.
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  9. #9
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    A few years ago, in a small town called Vernona, Oregon. A guy sued, because he did not want to take the mandatory drug test to play football. I think he won. I can understand why the govt, and "higher-ups" would want to test the students. So they can "hopefully" discourage drug use. But it won't work. It is, as they stated, too invasive. Which I agree. If you don't want the people to do drugs, in this case American. Stop *****ING letting the drug traffickers get through.

    They said this was for Extra-curricular activities. Why just that? Do the people that show some ambition to socialize outside of school, in a organized group, tend to do drugs more often than those who don't? From my experience at high-school, that was the exact opposite.
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  10. #10
    AntiOnline Senior Medicine Man
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    Its okay, if your on drugs you prolly don't wanna be in Extra-curricular activities anyways.

    However, I was in the 'Drama club' I would have never gotten to do that if i was drug tested.
    Also I attended The Christian Student Association meetings a few times. Heh...
    Then i left that Magnet school to go to a 'normal' public school. Then I dropped out....
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