Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 Source: Western Herald (MI EDU) Copyright: 2003 The Western Herald Contact: http://www.westernherald.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2668 Author: Rick Reinstein Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) DRUG POLICY ENTERS FINAL STAGE Western Michigan University's Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, Office of General Counsel and other administrators are finalizing policies for a university drug-testing program of student-athletes, something WMU has wanted to do for many years. "The goal is to get the procedures established for the fall," said Carol Hustoles, WMU general counsel. The WMU board of trustees approved a policy on drug education and random testing at its Dec. 13 meeting, authorizing the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics to craft policies and carry out random testing of the approximately 500 student-athletes at WMU. But while the policy was only recently approved, it has been under consideration for far longer. "We started talking about drug testing 20 years ago," said Dennis Corbin, assistant athletic director of medical services. Corbin said the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics decided to pursue testing over two years ago, but only managed to secure the $10,000 of required funding 18 months ago. Since Fall 2002, Hustoles said she, Corbin, Associate Dean of Students Suzanne Nagel, Interim Director of Athletics Dave Corstange and other WMU administrators have been working on the creation of a drug testing policy for the university's athletes. The random drug testing being planned will test for performance-enhancing drugs to ensure the integrity of athletic competition, as well as street drugs that could negatively affect student-athletes. "It improves our integrity as a program," Corbin said. According to Corbin, athletic competition is risky enough without adding the potentially fatal dangers of performance-enhancing and street drugs. "We truly stand on the commitment to a safe, healthy environment for the student-athletes," Corbin said. Paul DeVries, assistant athletic director of compliance, said student-athletes already sign forms agreeing to random drug testing in order to participate in WMU's athletics program. Public universities have the right to require random testing of student-athletes because participation in athletics is a privilege, Hustoles said. "Participating in an athletic program is not a constitutional right," she said. Random drug testing is already carried out at WMU as part of the NCAA Drug-Testing Program. Corbin said the university's drug testing is being based in part on the NCAA model. "We're hoping to model our program so that it will look very much like the NCAA program," Corbin said. "When our athletes come in, they'll have a level of understanding (as to) what to expect." As part of the NCAA's Year-Round Drug Testing Program, the football and men and women's track programs of Division I schools such as WMU are subjected to random on-campus testing at least one or more times per year based on random draw. The tests target performance-enhancing drugs, masking agents designed to defeat urine tests and ephedra, which was recently banned by the NCAA. Corbin said WMU is tested twice per year. Urine samples are taken in an observed setting and sent to an NCAA-approved lab for analysis. They undergo a screening test; samples that test positive are then subjected to a more precise confirming test. Corbin said this double testing system, which would also be used by the university, greatly increases the accuracy of the testing process. "It's very sound science, and it's withstood the legal tests out there," Corbin said. To carry out WMU's random drug testing, Corbin said the university will use the National Center for Drug-Free Sport, the same company that performs the NCAA's testing. Corbin said the first step in creating a drug testing policy for WMU was to collect policies from 25 schools across the country. These sample policies were then examined to see how they apply to WMU, Hustoles said. "It helps a great deal to see samples of other procedures that have been accepted and utilized by other universities, especially public universities," Hustoles said. The National Center for Drug-Free Sport also helped WMU develop its procedures for random drug testing based on its standard model, Corbin said. Aside from the actual testing, WMU's new policy also includes an educational component. Corbin said educational programs are already in place, and touch on morality and real-life issues as well as science. Education is part of the policy because testing is only a short-term solution, Corbin said. However, he said testing provides an effective deterrent not offered by education. At this point, Hustoles said administrators are still in the process of determining how to treat those student-athletes who test positive for drugs. "We're still talking about what would be the potential consequences for positive results," she said. According to the policy approved by the board of trustees, WMU should facilitate treatment and rehabilitation of student-athletes who test positive. "We know if someone is having a problem, then professional referral will be appropriate," Hustoles said. Corbin said consultants will perform assessments of student-athletes, and that treatment could be mandated at the individual's cost. Suspension may be a consequence for a positive drug test, but Corbin said student-athletes who are not physically at risk and comply with the penalties for substance abuse may be allowed to continue participating in the program. DeVries said these policies are necessary because they will prepare student-athletes for the real world. "The real world will drug test them, the real world will have consequences for those types of actions," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom