The Michigan Daily - Tuesday. October 5, 1999 -7 Supreme Court refuses to halt teacher drug tests os Angeles Times WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court leard the way yesterday for mandatory drug esting for school teachers, rejecting a constitu- ional challenge that called the program "an xercise in symbolism." e justices turned down an appeal filed by h ational Education Association, the largest eachers' union, which argued that educators 'hould not be forced to undergo urine testing nless there is evidence of a drug problem on the aculty. The court's action in the school case came on he opening day of its new term. It also refused o strike down a state tax credit for contributions o private and parochial schools and heard argu- ents in a death penalty case. The day was highlighted by the return of I ce Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had an ergone surgery for colon cancer a little more than two weeks ago. But at 10 a.m. yesterday, she emerged with her fellow jus- tices and smiled broadly before the assem- bled lawyers. And despite her ordeal, Ginsburg seemed in midseason form. She asked a dozen questions during the first hour of argu- ment. More than 1,600 appeals were turned down, most of them from prison inmates. Several of them tested areas where the law is in flux, including government-mandated drug screenings. A decade ago, the high court first upheld forced urine testing in cases involving train engineers and gun-carrying federal agents. These workers would pose a safety risk to the public if they were under the influence of drugs, the court decided. Therefore, mandatory testing was not an "unreason- able search" prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, the justices held on a 5-4 vote. But recently lower courts have extended the "safety" rationale to include, for exam- ple, white-collar budget analysts in Washington, and now school teachers. School board members in Knox County, Tenn., said that they had no evidence of drug use among their teachers but wanted to take a "firm stand" against drugs. In 1994, the board voted to require urine screening for all new teachers. In addition, school employees who showed signs of impair- ment also could be forced to submit to a test. However, a federal judge blocked the policy from taking effect. Public safety was not at stake, the judge said. But last year, a U.S. appeals court over- turned that decision and allowed school offi- "We are the case that everyone has been watching. cials to implement a test ing program. "The public interest (in a drug-tie school staff) clearly outweighs th e ptivaCy ii t e re st of the teacher not to be tested." the appeals court said. Richard T. Beeler, a school board lawyer in Knoxville, said that he expects other dis- tricts to copy the policy now that it has been cleared by the high court Knox County Education Association us. Knox County Board of Education. "We are the case that everyone has been - Richard Beeler Knoxville school board lawyer watching," he said. In the first year, 10 applicants for teaching jobs were rejected because they tested positive for an illegal substance. "If they are that stupid, we don't want them teaching in our schools," he added. The NEA's general counsel, Robert Chanin, said that he feared other districts would see the court's action "as a green light to go ahead with drug testing. In our view, itis a real stretch of the imagination to say teachers are like the guys running locomotives." Philip Morris protests USC research s Angeles'Times LOS ANGELES - Mobilizing against smoking tans and lawsuits that could cost them billions, tobac- :mpanies are engaged in a far-reaching campaign o discredit evidence that secondhand smoke is harm- ul to human health. Nowhere is the strategy more evident than in a legal attle over the evidence that has occupied at least 10 ourts, including U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, here it appears likely to be resolved in the industry's avor. In the latest phase of the discovery battle, Philip lorris is fighting University of Southern California esearchers to get access to a single computer disk containing raw data from an influential five-city study, known as the Fontham study, that found a causal link between lung cancer and secondhand smoke. The company wants to scrutinize the data in hopes of casting doubt on the evidence, which is weaker for second-hand smoke than for some other environmen- tal hazards. Fontham and similar studies have provided the scientific bedrock for a small but growing wave of secondhand smoke litigation that the industry aims to head off. At the same time, cigarette mak- ers are determined to slow the spread of California-style smoking bans to less-regulated areas of the United States and to foreign markets where smokers still light up wherever they choose. Research suggests that smoking restrictions reduce cigarette sales by inducing many smokers to cut down or even quit. Researchers from USC and other institutions involved in the Fontham study say the industry's relentless pursuit of the data could have a chilling effect on future health research. Citing promises of confidentiality to subjects in the study, they have resisted demands to cough up the data, which cigarette makers say they need to defend themselves in court. Scream-In vents stress MENTALITY *ntinued from Page 2. illness by Steven Taylor, a doctor who deals with the mentally ill. Most of the 40 community mem- bers who attended the lecture were faculty or those suffering from mental illness, Heeres said. "He was relating simple research to clinical psyche research," Heeres said. "Like how rats and worms can tell us how our brains LSA sophomores Megan Heeres and Tara Arrendondo two often organizers of Menta ity Awareness, sit in East Quad Residence Hall yesterday. FEACH-I N ontinued from Page 3. Singer conceded that the decades-long old War between the United States and e Soviet Union, in which the U.S.S.R. ollapsed without any direct conflict, d from his theory. But he noted that experts have attributed the war's eaceful nature to chance. Lemke then took the floor, offering dditional details from his analysis of ilitary history. He emphasized once ain that the concept of an arms race as self-defeating, citing extensive data. He rejected the theory of mutually ssured destruction, which says one uclear power will never launch an tack on another, for fear of massive fation. The theory was largely the basis for U.S. nuclear policy throughout the Cold War. The weeklong teach-in runs through Monday and will feature dozens of pre- sentations by University faculty and out- side lecturers. The events include: a talk on nuclear arms and the environment by Chief Earl Commanda of the Serpent River First Nation, a Native American tribe; a panel discussion on the role of international law in nuclear weaponry, with four law professors from across the nation; and a lecture on the c~e against disarmament by Stanford University Prof. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. Commanda, who attended yester- day's eyent, is visiting Michigan from his native Canada to spread his message that government nuclear mining pro- jeets are routed through his territory, causing harm to his people. "It seems we are the world's sacrifice for nuclear by-products,' he said. This year's forum continues a tradition of teach-ins at the University. The first event, in 1965, originated as a compro- mise between students, who wanted to strike in protest of the Vietnam war, and administrators, who advocated a more constructive approach. The teach-in format they devised emerged as an educational forum designed to raise questions and provide answers. Today, as Haber reflects on 34 years of teach-ins, he still speaks with the spirit of the 1960s. "Students tmust understand the importance of knowledge as a guide to social action," Haber said. DOUGLAS Continued from Page 1 she enjoyed the lecture, but added that Douglas argued only the extreme sides to the argument and displayed only "sthe best and worst of a lot of articles:' "Personally it doesn't effect me that much since I don't have kids," Cho added. One of few males in attendance, Engineering junior Mazin Sabra said he found the lecture very comprehen- sive. "The images were definitely there, but she needs to make a point that there is a middle" ground involved in the discussion, he said. Throughout her lecture, Douglas contrasted the image of celebrity moth- ers, like Christie Brinkley, with maga- zine photographs of black mothers on welfare. Douglas contrasted Brinkley's sexy pose and flashing smile to the glum expression on the black women's face. She noted that in the mass media wel- fare mothers are not portrayed in the same manner as celebrity mothers because they are asked questions deal- ing primarily with their financial sta- tus. She added that welfare mothers are typically not found on the covers of glossy magazines. "I thought the presentation was real- ly good. She was sarcastic and funny," said Rackham third-year graduate stu- dent Susannah Dolance. "I hadn't thought about the connections between celebrity mothers and welfare moth- ers." The lecture honored Vivian R. Shaw, the mother of former University stu- dent Ellen Agress, who was a junior when her mother died of breast cancer in 1967. Agress has pledged to give $30,000 to establish a Vivian R. Shaw Lecture fund for the women's studies programs and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. The gift will sponsor an annual speaker, who will lecture on women and gender issues. Douglas is the Catherine Neafie Kellogg professor in the department of communications studies and is current- ly exploring the effects the media has had on motherhood from the late 1960s to the present. She has authored three books includ- ing "Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media." JN " JruKi iU ARE YOU FEELING SAD OR BLUE? Medication-free women, suffering from depression between the ages of 18-48 are needed for a treatment and research project studying brain chemistry. For more information call 936-8726. i I 9 Live with British students in the center of Oxford as an Associate Student of an Oxford college at an affordable cost $8,600 a semester Tuition, Housing, Tours, Meals Summer term option Oxford Study Abroad Programme 52 Cornmarket Street Oxford OX1 3HJ England Tel & Fax: 011 44 1865 798738 Email: osap@osap.co.uk Web: www.studyabroad.com/osap JIHB ontlnued from Page 2. ld him why he had been taken to the hospital the night ic car was towed. The student even told him that GHB as illegal and that it could be used in date-rape situa- ans.. "I told him the State Police had been searching the in" Robbins said. bins said that the student's reply was "'The police snt search it too good,"' and then he removed a gallon f what he said was GHB from the trunk. The student so said that a 20-ounce pop bottle in the front seat con- ined GHB. As the student was leaving, Robbins tele- phoned police. "I'd call it bragging," Robbins said of the student's behavior. "I've got three young children ... I don't want my daughter to grow up around this," Robbins added. The student is not currently in police custody. A war- rant for his arrest can be issued if drug test prove the sub- stance in the jug is GHB, police said. Charges being sought against the driver are possession and use of cocaine and GHB, and driving under the influ- ence of drugs. The two men said they were returning from a party at the Fox Theater in Detroit the night they were stopped, troopers said. t EARLY SPRING BREAK specials! Bahamas Party Cruise 5 Days $279! ncludes Most Meals! Awesome Beaches, ightlife! Panama City, Daytona, South each, Florida $129! springbreaktravel.com 1-800-678-6368. EUFLY...-- uDrive.- OuroAir.com Europe! *ONcam Agent! FREE TRIPS AND CASH!!! SPRING BREAK 2000 itudentCity.com is looking for Highly Vlotivated Students to promote Spring Break 000! Organize a small group and travel tREE!! Top campus reps can earn Free 'rip & over $10,000! 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