College Requires Drug Tests for All Freshmen

This year, all first-year students at Linn State Technical College will be required to undergo mandatory drug testing. The policy enacted by the two-year school in Missouri may be the most intense drug-testing policy at any public college or university in the US, the AP reports. Civil libertarians are peeved about the development, but school leaders say they’re simply preparing students for the drug testing they’ll encounter when they start looking for jobs.

They also argue that drug testing is necessary for safety reasons, because the school’s courses cover areas such as heavy engine repair and nuclear technology. But "I've never heard of any other adult public educational institution that presumes to drug-test all of its students," says one attorney who belongs to the Missouri Civil Liberties Association, adding that a legal challenge is likely inevitable. "I don't think the courts will uphold it." The kicker: Students must pay for the $50 drug test themselves. (More drug test stories.)