School officials may have a little more help when it comes to identifying students who are potentially under the influence. That help comes in the form of a swab that will be used to detect previously unnoticeable illegal substances.

Administrators will soon be testing students at major Northgate functions such as football games, dances, and any major event but only if administrators have reasonable suspicion.

“You’re not going to get tested  unless you are presenting yourself in a way that gives us reasonable suspicion,” Principal Michael McAlister said when asked about this issue.

In other words, students will not get tested for drugs unless they look like they are under the influence.

High tech drug-testing devices are able to detect alcohol and multiple drugs just by swiping the swab inside the mouth of a student.  Research shows that these swabs can detect drugs from up to three days after the drug was taken.

However, this poses a controversy between students and the usage of these tests as well as a concern that students may get in trouble for things they may have done outside of school.

The devices have not yet been purchased.

“I don’t know which account it’ll come from but this will be a site expenditure,” said McAlister.

Students can expect to see these drug testing swabs in the near future at every major Northgate function. In fact, the procedural change will not only take place at Northgate, but at every other school in the district as well, said Vice Principal Jonathan Fey.

Some students still question, however, if the testing is a violation of their students’ rights.

“The fact that Northgate administration has such a lack of trust in its students to find the need to use drug testing swabs is disappointing to me. Also I feel like the testing is against my rights. Northgate never took it this far before,” said senior David Karim.

In addition to a concern of violating students’ rights, a number of students believe that the drug testing is simply unnecessary.

“I don’t think it’d be necessary because the school doesn’t need to spend money just to find out who is high and who isn’t. It’s really centered on that student’s choice on doing drugs,” said senior John Basbas.

“I don’t know if it is necessary. I don’t think it is that bad of a problem and we shouldn’t spend too much money on them,” said senior Kelly Zhao.

“I think it’s a waste of time and money. The school should find better ways to go about doing this,” said senior Megan K. Chappell.

On the other hand, a number of students commented on the issue, claiming it is a good idea for the school to test students.

“It is rightful to understand if the student is intoxicated or not. The school needs to know,” said senior Jesus Rivas.

“I think that when administrators begin this drug testing process, the amount of drugs and alcohol at Northgate will decrease,” said junior Farhan Bahaduri.

“Generally I think it’s a great idea for the school to test students. The administration needs to know if the kids are doing something they shouldn’t be,” said senior Jennifer Cheung.

“I believe that this drug testing will be very progressive and proactive in terms of making Northgate safer in general,” stated senior Eric Zhang. “I think it will be good for the administration to do this because they are just doing their job”.

A decrease in drug and alcohol use and an increase in safety is the goal of administrators.

“I am for using all the tools that are at our disposal to make sure students are safe. If the tools are available and there is suspicion I think we should be able to do what we can in order to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Vice Principal Fey.