School makes at least 75 students take blood and urine tests over 1 empty beer

School makes at least 75 students
take blood and urine tests over 1
empty beer

As many as 75 students were detained and
ordered to undergo blood and urine testing,
all because one can of beer was discovered at a
high school football game in New Jersey, a
school official said.


Randolph Superintendent Jennifer Fano said
in a letter posted on the district’s website that
the can turned up Friday night near a student
section of the bleachers at Randolph High
School.


The students were pulled from the stands and
their parents were called so they could be
screened for alcohol. Students who refused the
screening faced as much as five days of
suspension under school district policy.
Fano wrote on the district’s website: “As
educators, we are charged with enforcing
policy. The law requires that we send students
out to be tested when it appears that they may
be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”


Adults with ties to the school district, though,
said administrators went too far, punishing
too many students for the actions of a few,
which caused disruption for both parents and
medical professionals trying to comply with the
order, according to The Daily Record .
“Students then proceeded to emergency rooms
in Dover, Denville, Morristown and Livingston,”
Christopher C. Treston, a school board
candidate, posted on his campaign Facebook
page. “The emergency departments at Dover
and at Morristown were not given any warning
of what was coming, and were overwhelmed.”


Treston, who attended the game, told the Daily
Record that he believes that of all the students
eventually tested — including his son, a
sophomore — less than five produced a positive
test result for alcohol.


“Let me be very clear: teenage drinking is a
serious problem, and it did in fact occur at
our school on Friday night,”  Treston wrote.
“Our process of preventing backpacks, bottles
and cans from entering the stadium broke
down.

In addition, some number of students
arrived intoxicated. We owe it to the
community to identify such students, and to
protect them and the community. But, we also
need to do it in a way that protects the rights
and dignity of the student body. When the
accused-but-innocent outnumber the guilty 16
to one, we probably did it wrong.”
Fano said investigators are reviewing video
posted on social media of students drinking
before the game.


Fano has apologized to the students who tested
negative. She said the school board would pay
for the cost of testing those students.
“On Friday evening, I also spoke with the
medical professionals in Morristown, Dover and
Denville who were charged with processing the
student screenings,” she wrote on the district’s
website. “The medical professionals understood
that our administrators are not responsible for
determining sobriety and that we were properly
following the law and policy. Members of the
Randolph police were at the game and
effectively assisted administration in following
school procedures. It is my hope that this event
leads us all to reflect. School events are meant
to be a time to come together, celebrate our
community, and make positive memories.
Friday evening was just that for many, but
for some it was not.”