Pubdate: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2009 Osprey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/4VLGnvUl Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616 Author: Cheri Verge STUDENTS WHO SELL DRUGS GIVE UP RIGHTS It seems our society is so concerned with the rights of the individual, we forget that those rights end when they trample on the rights of others. A smoker's right to smoke ends in a public restaurant where others have the right to a smoke-free environment. A student's right to learn ends when his actions endanger other students and the teachers. A student who sells drugs to teenagers, on or off school property or time, is a dangerous element to have present in a school. The school is claiming that the incident (the sale of drugs at a party) corrupted the morals of the entire school community. Of course it did. For the parent to argue that this is "an abuse of power" is naive and self-serving. High school is a highly social environment. The kids talk about what they do on the weekends. Making drug use more accessible and acceptable to other students, on or off school property, poisons the school climate and should have consequences. The articles state the parent's and her lawyer's objections to the power that the school has under the Safe Schools Act. The school has simply required the student to learn away from the school and the other kids. The student has not been charged by police or had any other punishment imposed on him. However, the accusations the parent and her lawyer are making make it sound as if he has. Why should a teacher have to "read him his rights" before interviewing a student about his behaviour? The reason the schools have the power that they do is because they are dealing with children, not adults, who need parenting and boundaries. The parent claims the act is "punishing [them] for being teenagers." I believe the act is punishing them for selling drugs to teenagers. Selling drugs is illegal for good reasons, and should not be regarded as normal, acceptable teenage behaviour. There is a difference between "common" and "appropriate." If you believe you are old enough to decide to use and sell drugs, you are old enough to leave school and learn by alternative means to get your high school diploma. Apparently several students were suspended for this kind of behaviour. Should the individual showcased in the article be expelled, given the extenuating circumstances and history? I don't presume to know. But don't confuse the issue by suggesting that extracurricular activities don't impact the school culture on a wide scale, or that school officials acting in the best interest of the school at large are breaking the law. Cheri Verge Thomas Street - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin