Student pledge - invasion of privacy? - controversy over high school pledge not to smoke, drink or take drugs as requirement for extracurricular activities

Current Events, Feb 14, 1994

To school officials in Fairfax County, Va., the idea seemed natural. Students in high school athletics had to take a pledge not to smoke, drink, or take drugs. So why shouldn't those in other extracurricular activities take the same pledge? After all, participants in extracurricular activities are supposed to set an example for others. And the pledge merely commits students to do what is right.

The pledge reads: "As a participant in the extracurricular activities program ... I pledge to remain free of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, and to exhibit good citizenship at all times." The penalty for violating the pledge was suspension from extracurricular activities for a semester.

But some student leaders said they wouldn't sign. "The main concern is just on the invasion of privacy," said Stuart Jordan, president of the Annandale High School student body. "The school is overstepping its bounds by coming into the students' lives on the weekends." The school newspaper at Hayfield High School carried an editorial that claimed the pledge would "accomplish little more than turning advisers, teachers, administrators, and parents into policemen."

Other people called the pledge a good idea. "It's a privilege to be able to participate in extracurricular activities," said Bruce Patrick, head of extracurricular activities in the Fairfax school system. "The whole idea is to do what we feel is our part in working with children and fighting the battle against substance abuse." An editorial in The Washington Times newspaper saw no invasion of privacy in the pledge. It complained about the "exaggerated respect for the rights and feelings of children."

What do you think? Is a pledge like that of Fairfax a good idea? Why or why not?