THERE are many different reasons for alcohol testing before prom. This testing can be beneficial for the school and the safety of the students at a high school. The results of giving a breathalyzer test before prom can change the actions of students potentially drinking before or during the dance.
Some benefits of alcohol testing before prom include the following: reduced drunk driving accident rates for the teenagers who attend the prom, less fighting and bad behavior related to alcohol consumption. It may discourage teens from consuming alcohol before prom, as well as trying to sneak it into the building. Breathalyzine before prom can help raise parent awareness of teen drinking and encourage family involvement.
Now that the possibilities of stopping kids drinking before and/or during prom has been presented the questions is, ‘should Bishop Noll require mandatory breathalyzing before prom?’
-Nishiu Tarka
EVEN though there are a lot of adequate reasons on why schools should have a breathalyzer test before prom, there are a couple of drawbacks. Some of those drawbacks include arguing between teens for lack of privacy on being tested, negative attention may arise if a teen tests positive for alcohol, and fear of incorrect positive results and teens being kicked out of the dance for doing nothing wrong.
Because of all the problems that can rise from alcohol testing before prom, schools wonder if they should even have breathalyzers.
Even though underage drinking is illegal, if students drink before going to prom, schools should not have the right to breathalyze students upon entering the dance. Schools do not have the right to monitor what studetns do outside of the school building or at a school sponsored function such as prom.