Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Editorial: High court might rule favoring school strip search
By Editorial Board
Daily 49er, Cal State-Long Beach
April 27, 2009

Sometimes it feels like Americans live in some strange Orwellian nightmare; we’re constantly under surveillance for acts deemed illicit by the powers-that-be. Even those who pose no threat are treated like criminals in some cases.

It is appalling that good, hard-working young citizens are subjected to inappropriate scrutiny from officials who should be spending more time educating and less time looking for kids to bust.

A clear-cut example of misuse of power occurred in 2003 when a 13-year-old girl named Savana Redding was wrongfully accused of possessing prescription-strength ibuprofen when she arrived at her Arizona middle school.

Redding, an honor student who had never been in trouble at school, was ordered by her vice principal to be strip searched by a school nurse and an aid. The Los Angeles Times reported that the nurse searched her underwear to see if she was hiding the pills.

Everyone knows it’s those damn 13-year-old honor roll girls who threaten the sanctity of middle schools by smuggling in horrible drugs like aspirin.

This horrible violation prompted Redding’s mother to take action against the school. Their case was initially thrown out, prompting the Redding family to take the matter to a higher court.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Redding won last year before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the strip search of an eighth-grader was unreasonable and unconstitutional and said school officials who ordered the search were liable for damages.

The humiliation this girl has had to endure as a result of her school’s misuse of power is unimaginable.

Many may argue that the school was trying to protect its students from the threat of drugs. Well, the Los Angeles Times reported that Redding had no objection to the principal looking through her backpack and belongings.

Is that not good enough? Why did the school deem it necessary to conduct a strip search? This whole situation is so infuriating that it doesn’t seem real.

Unfortunately, it is very real and the outcome is looking a bit grim. The Supreme Court heard the case last Tuesday and the responses from several of the justices suggest they may side in the school’s favor.

“The thought process in the principal’s mind is: Better embarrassment than the risk of violent sickness and death,” said Justice David H. Souter. “What’s wrong with that reasoning?”

How about everything “In-Justice” Souter? There was no threat whatsoever. This girl was a great student, had never been a disciplinary problem and agreed to have her property searched for contraband. She wasn’t some drug mule trying to sneak the kids in the science club happy pills.

Should the Supreme Court not side with Redding, it would be another disgraceful example of America’s ever-growing laundry list of misused power during recent years. It would rank right up there with waterboarding and the Patriot Act Parts I and II.

No one disputes the need for security. Last week marked the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings, an event that could’ve been prevented had the school monitored students better.

There is a line between the reasonable and the unreasonable, however, and in Redding’s case her civil rights were clearly violated once she was strip searched.

It won’t be long before every student is required to undergo a full cavity search before first period.

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