Club W: Students' reaction to MHS drug policy is mixed
By Michael Yates
MHS student reporter
Marion-Florence USD 408 board of education approved the concept for a new drug testing policy in November, and went on to approve the actual policy last month.
The policy states any and all Marion High School students involved in extra-curricular activities will have their names entered into a random drug testing pool. Parents also are allowed to enter their child's name in the pool, even if he or she does not participate in any of these activities. At any given time a student may be randomly selected from this pool and tested immediately. Reasonable suspicion may also prompt a student to be tested.
Alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and meth are among the drugs students will be tested for. In the event a test is positive, parents will immediately be notified and the student will be suspended from any and all school activities for a given amount of time, to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Principal Ken Arnhold hopes the policy will give a new reason to say no to drugs, allowing teenagers "a chance to say no."
"I'd be a fool to say it's not out there," says Arnhold. When asked if he felt drugs were a current problem at MHS, Arnhold's response was "not at all."
Testing costs concerned Arnhold at first, but actually turned out to be cheaper than what the district anticipated. Costs still, however, seem to be a concern for many students at MHS.
"I think it's stupid," says Jason Matz, senior. "It's a waste of money our school doesn't have."
The main complaints from many students involve costs and invasions of privacy. However, when these students were asked if they felt it was acceptable for students involved in extracurricular activities to be using drugs, nearly all of them say no. Also surprising is the amount of students who are in favor of the new policy.
"We're going to prove to the community that we're not as big into drugs as they think we are," said Megan O'Dell, senior. "I know we're going to prove them wrong," agreed Kayla Barrett, senior.
Although Arnhold supports the new drug testing policy, he hopes it will prove to be unnecessary.
