Teh One Who Knocks
02-19-2014, 12:38 PM
by Ericka Sóuter - The Stir
School bathrooms can be scandalous places. After all, it's where students are most likely to smoke, bully each other, or hide out while skipping a class. However, Benjamin Cosor Elementary School has taken the lavatory lore to a whole new level. Police say that heroin and drug paraphernalia were found in the faculty bathroom, which is off-limits to students. Sadly, that can only mean one thing: an adult who is in charge of children is using drugs on school grounds. Scary thought, right? Wait, it gets worse.
By using camera footage, Fallsburg, New York investigators were able to whittle down the possible suspects to eight faculty members who used that particular men's restroom before the narcotics and needles were discovered. Administrators then asked that they take a drug test to determine who the culprit was. While each of them did initially agree, all but one quickly changed his mind and hired a lawyer on the advice of the teachers' union.
Of course, the pervading theory among police and parents is that if they have nothing to hide, why not take the urine test? It's certainly a fair question. Don't parents have the right to know if a drug addict is teaching their children? I know there will be arguments about civil liberties and one's right to privacy, but when it comes to a situation involving children, the choice is simple. This person committed a crime on school property, and a potentially dangerous one at that. What if a faculty member had gotten poked by a needle or, worse, a student had happened upon these things?
Growing up in this country is an uphill battle for many children these days. They are faced with situations involving violence, sex, and crime early on. School should be a safe haven of sorts or, at the very least, parents should not have to worry about one of the staff members using drugs feet away from where their children are learning. So asking for a drug test seems incredibly fair -- at least to this parent. On the other hand, if the drugs had been found near the school rather than in it, this request would be unreasonable. But fact of the matter is, someone these families trusted put these students in danger.
School bathrooms can be scandalous places. After all, it's where students are most likely to smoke, bully each other, or hide out while skipping a class. However, Benjamin Cosor Elementary School has taken the lavatory lore to a whole new level. Police say that heroin and drug paraphernalia were found in the faculty bathroom, which is off-limits to students. Sadly, that can only mean one thing: an adult who is in charge of children is using drugs on school grounds. Scary thought, right? Wait, it gets worse.
By using camera footage, Fallsburg, New York investigators were able to whittle down the possible suspects to eight faculty members who used that particular men's restroom before the narcotics and needles were discovered. Administrators then asked that they take a drug test to determine who the culprit was. While each of them did initially agree, all but one quickly changed his mind and hired a lawyer on the advice of the teachers' union.
Of course, the pervading theory among police and parents is that if they have nothing to hide, why not take the urine test? It's certainly a fair question. Don't parents have the right to know if a drug addict is teaching their children? I know there will be arguments about civil liberties and one's right to privacy, but when it comes to a situation involving children, the choice is simple. This person committed a crime on school property, and a potentially dangerous one at that. What if a faculty member had gotten poked by a needle or, worse, a student had happened upon these things?
Growing up in this country is an uphill battle for many children these days. They are faced with situations involving violence, sex, and crime early on. School should be a safe haven of sorts or, at the very least, parents should not have to worry about one of the staff members using drugs feet away from where their children are learning. So asking for a drug test seems incredibly fair -- at least to this parent. On the other hand, if the drugs had been found near the school rather than in it, this request would be unreasonable. But fact of the matter is, someone these families trusted put these students in danger.