Student voice on drug-testing

I am a Whitefish High School Bulldog. I am proud of my school and its accomplishments. Recently, the issue of drug abuse has exploded over the campus, filling the halls with rumor and distaste. Staggering numbers reflecting the extent of abuse came out of nowhere, augmenting the "problem" to titanic proportions. The community has shouted from both sides, but the debate has forgotten one very important aspect — the student body. Maybe I can voice a little of its opinion.

I, like many of my peers, am highly involved in Whitefish High School activities. Every fall, I pay my activity fees to compete in varsity cross-country and track. Most of my lunch-breaks are filled with club meetings, clubs that are about to be unfairly targeted as centers of high school drug-use.

Whitefish schools are on a very tight budget. Therefore, the money that this testing needs will come from a private group. This seems downright out of sync with the fact that Whitefish High School is a public school. The PTA and CARE can fund all drug-awareness weeks they want, but when it comes to implementing a new policy, the school administration should decide to use school money.

Currently, we can't even afford enough tissues to last through next Christmas. I didn't want a new school — my education hasn't been compromised by the facilities — but with the current state of affairs, I would like to know where all these issues are coming from in the first place.

I think that the testing money would be better off used for funding, say, the boys cross-country team and girls soccer team, both of which placed in the top-three at state last year.

The Whitefish High School mission statement declares that its goal is to "assure that all students are provided the educational opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to function effectively in a changing society." Great. Educate us.

What's more, use urinalysis to make sure we are adhering to Whitefish High School's moral standards. If we fail, remove us from our activity — and therefore from the public's eye — until we shape up. This is absolutely, 100 percent, the most foolproof way to maintain the educational atmosphere necessary to a quality learning environment.

Ha. I think more brainstorming, a lot more, is needed to find a better resolution.

The point is that education about drugs is far more effective when discussed around, say, a dinner table than in the school environment. Families should teach their kids about responsibility.

I missed the first drug forum, but heard about an excellent point someone made. If we are going to test our kids, why stop there? Work up the ladder. Test the staff, the administration, the parents. I wonder how many of them would pass, and what consequences they would face. This is an all-encompassing community issue, not just a cleaning up of Whitefish High School activities.

I said that I consider myself a Bulldog. At pep rallies, most of the student body comes out to cheer on our teams. By showing their support of Whitefish High School athletics, aren't these students Bulldogs as well? Shouldn't the same policies that apply to competitive students also apply to everyone else that walks the halls of Whitefish High School?

The way this policy is currently presented makes it seem like Whitefish schools wishes to create an elite snapshot of its students to present to the community. Are we here to create a privileged group of students, refined to private interest's standards, to represent our school away? Why does this select representation of Whitefish High School have to be any different than a group of students not competing under a Whitefish jersey?

The Wall of Fame, in the high school foyer, best represents Whitefish High School excellence. If this activity-directed policy were to pass, only student groups that can make it onto the Wall should be tested. The groups that have for so many years been excluded from recognition on the Wall should continue to be excluded from school policy.

The general consensus at the school is that this testing is unfairly subjugating those involved with extracurricular activities to a private group's standards. It's seen as just another dumb Whitefish rule. Remember the dreadlocks incident? This policy will simply increase the "us and them" mentality at the school.

I am not a proponent of illegal substance use. Yes, drugs are bad. Yes, concerned parents should have free drug-tests made available to them. Yes, all athletes should be drug-free. I am sure that drug-testing will make its way to Whitefish High School someday, it seems to be all the fad with East-side schools, but until that testing is administered in a fair and even way, I, along with many of the student body, will feel at odds with the policy.

Patrick McGunagle is a Whitefish High School student.