Drugs: Not A Choice At South
Voluntary student testing program kicks off Monday

BY SUSAN DICKERSON
SALISBURY POST

Students at South Rowan High School will have to make Choices Monday.

At a special student assembly Monday, the voluntary student drug testing program will kick off – complete with entertainment and incentives.

Now that South High Principal Dr. Alan King has the school board’s approval, he wants everyone involved.

Choices – Caring how our influence changes every student – languished in a school board committee, as the board’s attorney and board members debated the idea and the consequences of the program. Approval came in November, and students begin signing up next week.

If students want to join Choices, they and their parents must come in and sign a pledge while going through a conference with guidance counselors on drug education. By signing the pledge, students promise to remain drug free and submit to random drug testing.

If a test returns positive, the school notifies a student’s parents, the student and parents enter drug counseling and the student is ejected from Choices.

For Choices to work, King always intended for students to have incentives – a free movie, a 10 or 15 percent discount at local stores, free merchandise, cash drawings. Students who join get a Choices card with their picture, much like an ID card with sponsor names on the back. To solicit those incentives, King enlisted the aid of South’s Future Farmer’s of America club.

Since then, students have bombarded businesses in the community with requests to back the program.

‘‘There are no places who flat out said no,’’ said FFA President Tara Runion, a senior.

Some businesses couldn’t make a decision right there, some had to consult their home offices, and some donated money or discounts on the spot.

King also is negotiating help from the school’s Booster Club. ‘‘A lot of students like going to football and basketball games. Maybe in Choices, we can work it out with the Boosters where members can get a discount or one free game a season,’’ Runion said.

Philip Corriher, a junior and FFA member, visited Rowan Bank in China Grove, F&M Bank, Gary’s Barbecue, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Burger King and the Snow Ball Shop in China Grove. All in two days.

‘‘Most of the businesses I talked with went ahead and committed to giving a donation or giving an incentive,’’ Corriher said. ‘‘They also felt that South Rowan was ahead of the game by being the first to install such a program.’’

China Grove Textiles donated $2,500 to buy 250 drug testing kits.

‘‘So we won’t have to use any of the money we get on the kits,’’ Corriher said. ‘‘We can use it all for incentives.’’

If the business community is getting behind the program, how’s it going over among students?

‘‘Personally, I think it’s something that we need to do,’’ Runion said. ‘‘We did the regular stuff and tried all the other ways to get rid of drugs. They worked for a little while and were half effective. I think it’s time for us to try something new. And if it saves one person’s life, it’s worth it.’’

But Runion also admits it’s a controversial issue among students. Some students think it’s not Choices’ right to test students for drugs. ‘‘But it’s on a volunteer basis,’’ she said. ‘‘They have the right to choose or not. That’s why we’re having the incentives.

‘‘There’s a silent majority who are against drinking and drugs. ... This will bring out the silent majority, and they will stand up against drinking and drugs by signing up for the program. Students who do drugs think that’s the cool thing to do. But when they see the students who stand up against drugs, it might get them to quit.’’

King also called an assembly last semester to judge student response to the program. After talking about it, he asked those who would join to stand up, and most of the students stood. And those who didn’t, King invited them to come up to the microphone and talk about why, Corriher said.

Those students who came forward to say why they wouldn’t join, ‘‘most of the students laughed at them because they made no sense whatsoever,’’ Corriher said. ‘‘These were the people who didn’t have a clue about what they were talking about.’’

Faculty are expecting 80 percent of the student body to sign up for the program, said FFA advisor David Cress.

With the kickoff at 9 a.m. Monday, King has hired a group to come in and perform music, skits and other entertainment.

After the kickoff, parents will have the opportunity to come in at night for conferences with guidance counselors and other trained staff to sign students up.

‘‘We want to help initiate conversation between teens and their parents,’’ said South Intervention Specialist Karen Harris said. ‘‘This will be a good opportunity for parents to have a conversation with their children about drugs.’’

For those parents who can’t come at night, Harris said staff will work out times convenient for school personnel, students and parents.

Meanwhile, the school is still looking for sponsors. Other than the increased business sponsors might receive, the school will hang banners with sponsors’ names at the school.

‘‘I think community would have a very positive perception for those businesses,’’ Harris said.

Businesses that want to participate should call the school at 857-1161.