I have no problem with trying to cut down on drugs and alcohol in schools, but the only thing were doing is taking it to the extreme. Sure having possession of these things is illegal let alone on school property, and i do not condone the use OR possession at anytime, but locking the school down for half an hour while drug dogs pick apart our lockers is unnessecary and does have its cons. The students at West Allegheny have now been labeled as drug addicts and alcoholics. These procedures may make our school a safer place, but it sure doesn't give us that idea. Now every parent in western pennsylvania have read the news and thinks that now that we search for drugs, that every student at West Allegheny has a problem, which is far from the truth.
After this first search, sure people got caught, but only a limited number of people who were stupid enough to get themselves into the situation in the first place. Do this test at any other school and I will GUARANTEE you will find much more serious problems than a couple of young, stupid, immature kids that make up such a small population of our school. The fact that we are taking a small problem to such extreme measures will make me and many other students embarrased to admit that we go to this school when talking to outsiders now that we have this label. So keep the tests coming. Most of my classmates and myself have nothing to hide, but remember the effects it has on our community.
You make some extremely valid points here. When the conducts a school-wide search, unfortunately generalizations are unavoidable. I have some remarkable students who should feel insulted that their lockers are searched. However, I wonder what effective alternatives there are without profiling students. It's a tough call without clear answers. Think about developing this into something more.
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