By Scott Tibbs, April 22, 2009
Six years ago, a 13 year old girl was subjected to a humiliating strip search because the principal suspected she might be hiding ibuprofen in her underwear, after a search of her backpack did not find any pills. Now, the case goes to the Supreme Court, and SCOTUS should rule against the school by 9-0. Defending the indefensible, the school district attorney made the following statement:
- If nothing had been done, and this happened to another kid, parents would have been outraged.
What an amazingly stupid thing to say. It is well documented that drug dealers and users have been known to hide drugs in bodily orifices. Should 13 year old girls be subjected to a cavity search by the school "nurse" because she might be carrying the dreaded drug ibuprofen? I would not be a bit surprised if we read a story about a school "nurse" doing just that in order to find contraband.
No one wants teenagers abusing drugs, and society expects government schools to engage in reasonable measures to keep drugs out of schools. But there has to be a balance between civil liberties and security, to say nothing of respecting basic human rights. These kinds of policies are a huge opportunity for sexual predators, as well. Benjamin Franklin once said that "those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
There is absolutely no excuse for a 13 year old to be subjected to (let's be brutally honest here) sexual abuse by a school "nurse" in order to find the dreaded and dangerous ibuprofen. Both the school "nurse" and the principal should be fired from their jobs and banned from ever working in a government job again, because taxpayers should not pay one penny of their salaries. Every single member of the school board needs to be defeated in the next election and the school system itself should face harsh financial sanctions and strict oversight to ensure this type of abuse does not happen again.
