Pubdate: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2015 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Page: A18 STRIPPING AWAY RIGHTS Quebec Outrage Young people should not be strip-searched by school officials Quebec's education minister has stepped back from defending the strip-searching of a 15-year-old girl at school. Provincial officials now say they'll review rules that were used to justify taking such an extreme measure. But what's there to review? Young people should not be stripsearched by school officials. Period. Rather than acknowledging the obvious, however, and admitting that staff at a high school in the Quebec City area had gone too far, Education Minister Yves Bolduc initially cited security concerns in an attempt to justify the search. He went on to claim that politicians have a duty to stand behind the system's teachers and principals. What rubbish. Politicians need to support what's right and speak out against abuses. No wonder the public responded with outrage. As reported by the Star's Allan Woods, the case involves a teenage girl who was suspected by school officials of selling drugs to other students. After she sent a text message to a friend evidently joking about selling marijuana, she was questioned, her locker was searched in vain and she was sent to a closed-off room and ordered to remove all her clothes, including her underwear, so the garments could be examined for drugs. It's absurd to cite security concerns in this situation. Making matters worse, the girl's request to call her mother was reportedly refused by school officials. Such mistreatment is inexcusable. If there's worry that a student might pose a threat, for example, by concealing a weapon on their person, police should be summoned. It should never be up to school staff to strip them naked. Searching a locker is obviously acceptable. It's school property. And a case could be made for examining the contents of a student's purse or turning out a pocket. But there's no reason to have any young person subjected to the humiliating and intrusive process of being strip-searched by school staff. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt