Question:
Since the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding drug testing of
school athletes, Butte Falls, a small town in southern Oregon recently
announced it was going to initiate a testing program of its athletes.
My questions are:
(1) Why not test the cheerleaders, why not ALL students, why not the
teachers, why just the athletes?
(2) What types of drugs are schools going to test for? Are tobacco and
alcohol included, as both are illegal for minors (18 and 21 respective)?
I am as concerned about the drug use problem facing us, but is it
justified to pick out a certain group of society and then without any
reasonable suspicion, subject members of that group to testing. Should
we be any less concerned about all students and teachers than about the
athletes?
Answer:
Many, many places in the U.S. are experiencing widespread problems with
steroids use among young _athletes_. In the southern half of the U.S.,
the problem is crazy. I've seen it. It makes young men really big and
really mean. It is not a problem among teachers, cheerleaders, or
computer geeks. The basis for the right to test would be that, as a
member of a team, an athlete should be in accordance with the rules of
that team. If an athlete does not wish to be tested, he can quit the team.
Just the same, if a job applicant does not wish to be tested, he doesn't
apply at that job. It goes with the territory. Athletes are selected
and usually seen as leadership role models for the school.
