An editorial in The Daily Targum (a Rutgers-oriented publication) responds to mandatory drug testing at a public college in Missouri:
Imagine walking into your first day of college and being asked to urinate into a cup. It may sound like a strange scenario, but for students at Linn State Technical College — the only public technical college in Missouri — it’s a very real one. The school recently enacted a measure whereby all new students are required to submit to a drug test. If a student fails the test, he or she will have 45 days to pass another one. If this whole program sounds unnecessarily invasive, that’s because it is, especially for a public college.
According to officials at the school, the tests are a safety measure. At Linn State, some students routinely work with heavy machinery as part of their course loads. Administrators see the mandatory drug tests as a way to hopefully prevent any serious injuries as a result of irresponsible behavior. This is certainly a concern that the school needs to take seriously, but their preferred method of dealing with said concern is too extreme. Even the students who do not work with machinery are subject to the drug tests. In choosing to administer mandatory drug tests to all new students, Linn State is unquestionably invading their privacy. It is a textbook example of unlawful search and seizure, and we are shocked that so many administrators at Linn State are in support of the measure.
Read more on Daily Targum.