{"id":4469,"date":"2020-05-06T15:18:18","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T19:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=4469"},"modified":"2020-05-06T15:19:46","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T19:19:46","slug":"bad-breathalyzing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=4469","title":{"rendered":"Bad Breathalyzing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Caleb Berko &amp; Sam Woiteshek<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Bucs&#8217; Blade<br \/>\nGrand Haven HS<br \/>\n1st Place Division 1, News Writing<br \/>\nNews Analysis<\/p>\n<p><b>JUDGING CRITERIA<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharp, attention-getting lead that underscore the why\/how elements of the news<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarifies the news elements, i.e. timeliness, nearness, impact and prominence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarifies through research the background necessary to understand current news<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Develops an understanding of the issues\/problems through interviews with varied and balanced sources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoids personal opinion unless properly attributed<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sentences, paragraphs of varied length, written clearly, concisely and vividly<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Effective use of facts\/quotes from both primary and secondary sources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proper diction\/grammar; use of third person<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Senior Olivia Striegle strolls through the brisk autumn air, swings open the shiny, metallic doors to the athletic entrance and immediately is log-jammed by a thick line of people. But there is no cause for concern &#8211; this is typical for any high school dance. As the line crawls its way to the tables, most kids fork over their tickets, display their ID and fasten their wristbands. Striegle does the same. However, she is asked for something else, something most students weren\u2019t asked for. A breathalyzer test. \u201cI was super nervous because I\u2019m a worrier,\u201d Striegle said. \u201cI freaked out, what if there was wine in the chicken I had for dinner?\u201d She blows into the tiny gray nozzle. After a five-second countdown, a beep sounds. Is she above the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)? If not, congratulations, she\u2019s not intoxicated. Here, take the mouthpiece as a souvenir. For Striegle, this was the first of the three total times she has been breathalyzed. She\u2019s kept two of the mouthpieces. With the issue of intoxication resolved, Striegle is finally able to enter the dance. Yet she\u2019s left with a major question: why did they pick me? She is now tagged for the night as the kid who was breathalyzed. She knows she has no reason to worry internally, except for the social impact. \u201cI knew it wasn\u2019t a big deal because I wasn\u2019t drinking and I don\u2019t drink,\u201d Striegle said. \u201cBut with everyone watching me I felt singled out.\u201d An invasion of privacy to some, Striegle\u2019s case brings up a topical point: how does Grand Haven High School select students to be breathalyzed? More important yet, is breathalyzing at school dances necessary? Deputy Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Bonsitu Kitaba thinks not. \u201cBreathalyzers show the school isn\u2019t dedicated to solving the social issue,\u201d Kitaba said. \u201cThey just want to scare students into not drinking.\u201d Striegle agrees, citing current social stigmas as a reason. \u201cI think everybody knows that illegal drinking happens,\u201d Striegle said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s accepted and it\u2019s not a huge thing. They don\u2019t make it as big as they probably used to. I know a ton of people who participate in this activity and it\u2019s not a big deal to them. There are other things that are viewed as worse than drinking, like smoking.\u201d The numbers suggest otherwise. According to the Youth Assessment Survey from 2017 for Ottawa County, 32% of students admitted to having some form of an alcoholic drink in their lifetime and 13.1% admitted to smoking in their lifetime. According to alcohol.org, an American Addiction Centers Resource, \u201cindividuals between the ages of 12 and 20 account for 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States\u201d. By contrast, 5.5% of teenagers are smoking nowadays, per the Youth Assessment Survey. The effects of having an above-zero Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) at a school dance are outlined in the student policy handbook. Each student is required to read the manual at the start of each school year. Unfortunately, few students read it so its effectiveness is nullified. Additionally, an academy class during homecoming week was allotted to reinforcing orderly conduct and proper procedure rules at school dances with a supplementary lesson. One of the points of the lesson was to alert students to the administration\u2019s use of breathalyzers and their supposed purpose. They also emphasized the disciplinary measures a student invokes if their BAC is above zero. \u201cWe want a safe environment,\u201d principal Tracy Wilson said. \u201cIf kids choose to [drink], we don\u2019t want them at our events. When they do, it puts us in a position where we have to deal with it &#8211; we can\u2019t ignore it. We have a responsibility.\u201d She recounted that the policy has been in place for nearly 15 years, and was implemented because Grand Haven, as well as other area high schools, were having issues with students showing up to dances drunk. Wilson also said the school has not had a problem with wasted students in a few years. When administrators choose to breathalyze a student, they do so \u201crandomly\u201d. \u201cWe typically just pick a number between one and nine,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cFrom there, we just say \u2018five\u2019 and breathalyze every fifth kid, or \u2018eight\u2019 or whatever.\u201d Attorney Ed Sternisha, who specializes in cases related to drunk driving, sees the school\u2019s method of selection as problematic. \u201cRandom, to me, is concerning,\u201d Sternisha said. \u201cHow are they determining who\u2019s picked randomly? To me, that\u2019s putting all the student\u2019s names in a hat and pulling a set number out. So I don\u2019t believe random selection is appropriate.\u201d While there is no proof to assure the administration was not testing randomly on the night Striegle was tested, it does bring up a fair point: is random selection the proper route? Instead of a randomized test, Sternisha believes the school ought to pick students for a preliminary breath test (PBT) solely on reasonable suspicion. \u201cPerhaps reasonable suspicion is more appropriate,\u201d Sternisha said. \u201cWhen a cop stops someone, it\u2019s because they have reasonable suspicion that they\u2019re doing something.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In that case, actions to ensure personal safety are warranted. It\u2019s alternative motivation, Kitaba notes, that schools should be wary of violating. \u201cIf the school receives a tip, or has observed behavior that gives them reasonable suspicion, then they should take steps to address the issue with that particular student,\u201d Kitaba said. \u201cWhen the test is random, it\u2019s not based on any reasonable suspicion which makes it a suspicion-less search, and those are not permitted.\u201d Wilson claims to be one step ahead of that curve. She understands what is at stake. \u201cI\u2019m not naive to think nobody drinks,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIf we feel there\u2019s a reasonable suspicion of someone drinking, and there\u2019s something we can do, we\u2019ll do it.\u201d The kinds of rights students retain from the street to the schoolhouse is something of a hot topic. When looking at the Supreme Court in the instance of New Jersey vs. T.L.O., the Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment applies to school officials, so long as the search is reasonable. Otherwise, students are within reason to expect legitimate privacy at school. \u201cA random breathalyzer test or searching every student\u2019s locker without reasonable suspicion are the kinds of tests we as the ACLU would say do not abide by the Fourth Amendment,\u201d Kitaba said. In terms of Constitutionality, this is true. However, in the instance of breathalyzing at dances with reasonable suspicion, students are out of luck. They\u2019re likely not escaping a PBT anytime soon. \u201cStudents have no right to a dance,\u201d Sternisha said. \u201cA right that the students should demand, though, is to make sure that whoever is administering a PBT knows how to use it, knows when to recognize when it\u2019s not working properly and to understand the limitations of the device.\u201d Instead of stressing about being chosen to submit to a PBT at the next dance, or whether or not the device will read a false positive, Sternisha suggests students be asking administrators when the last time was the device was calibrated, or whether or not the administrators administering the tests have basic training to use and understand the devices. Police departments throughout the state are required by law to calibrate all breathalyzers once every month to make sure the devices perform properly. If not, the reading on the PBT will be inaccurate. If a police officer administers a PBT to someone they believe is drunk, that test cannot be evidence in a case to convict the person of drunk driving. Regardless of if the device\u2019s reading is higher than the legal BAC limit of .08. \u201cRandom breathalyzers, in our perspective, are not going to address the issue,\u201d Kitaba said. \u201cYou might have done nothing wrong and not had any alcohol and you might not test 0.0 on a PBT. That\u2019s because those machines have error rates. We don\u2019t want students who are doing the right thing to then be disciplined because of technology.\u201d Likewise, this means students do have the right to refuse to submit to a PBT, but if they refuse, that also means they don\u2019t have a right to enter the dance. This balances out the students\u2019 rights with school\u2019s rules. \u201cThe Constitution and the Fourth Amendment protect every student\u2019s right to privacy,\u201d Kitaba said. \u201cBut the school does have certain rights as well to ensure that there is an orderly administration of education, orderly environment and that it\u2019s a safe environment.\u201d While it may be easy to say the policy has done its job, given the school hasn\u2019t had an issue with students attending the dances drunk, one may wonder if it should remain in effect. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s a reason to spend time revamping the policy,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt\u2019s been effective and it serves its purpose.\u201d Yet, based on the policy and its implementation, students must ask themselves if they are being wronged or not. Kitaba, for one, believes revision is necessary. \u201cA policy should not be enacted \u2018just because\u2019,\u201d Kitaba said. \u201cIt sends a message when policies like these are implemented: the administration doesn\u2019t trust the students.\u201d While this may be hard to hear for some, there is a solution. With the rule unlikely to change by itself, Kitaba suggests students take action for their desired reform. \u201cStudents need to know that they don\u2019t just have to sit idly by or let the administration to whatever they feel is right for students,\u201d Kitaba said. \u201cStudents need to know what their rights are and be able to stand up for them. Because today it may be a small inconvenience, but tomorrow it could be a bigger intrusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Caleb Berko &amp; Sam Woiteshek The Bucs&#8217; Blade Grand Haven HS 1st Place Division 1, News Writing News Analysis JUDGING CRITERIA Sharp, attention-getting lead that underscore the why\/how elements of the news Clarifies the news elements, i.e. timeliness, nearness, impact and prominence Clarifies through research the background necessary to understand current news Develops an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53,4],"tags":[175,20],"class_list":["post-4469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","category-newsanalysis","category-nw","tag-2019-20","tag-division1","post_format-post-format-image","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/BAD-BREATHALYZING.png?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/BAD-BREATHALYZING.png?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Joel Beeker","author_link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?author=9"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/BAD-BREATHALYZING.png?fit=2302%2C1328&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6K0n6-1a5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}