On Tuesday, April 21, 2009 the Supreme Court heard the case of Safford School District vs. Redding.
This is the case in which 13-year-old Savana Redding was strip-searched at her Tucson middle school by a nurse and a nurse's aide to see if she was hiding illegal drugs. Savana, who was innocent, was forced to lift and shake her bra and shift her panties from side to side exposing her breasts and pelvic area in a search for contraband. And you thought your middle school sucked.
Searching backpacks and lockers have failed to keep our campuses drug-free. Narcs and drug-sniffing dogs can't nail enough young offenders. Yet we educators may soon be handed a new tool in our war on drugs -- forcing teens to strip down to their boxers and thongs. To see if they what? Taped tabs of acid to their bum? Hid a joint in their pubic hair? Stuffed a baggie of cocaine up their crack? Don't we have enough to do just trying to get our students to pass the high school exit exam?
Maybe middle school kids in Tucson are docile and accommodating, but if the Supreme Court rules in favor of allowing school administrators to order students to take it all (or almost all of it) off, there may be some uncomfortable moments in tough inner city schools like the one where I teach.
I can imagine the scene. One of my no-nonsense female students is ordered to the Nurse's Office where she is greeted by the nurse and a female assistant principal.
AP: Jacqueline, come in.
Jacqueline: Why you call me in during lunch? I ain't pregnant. And I ain't going to take no swine flu vaccine.
AP: You're here because there are rumors circulating on campus that you're selling drugs.
Jacquline: And there are rumors circulating on campus that Tupac is still alive. Who say I'm slangin' drugs?
AP: We can't give out that information.
Jacquline: So you want to what, search my backpack? Here. (hands over her backpack) Ain't got but four dollar in there. If I'm dealin' where all my dead presidents?
AP: We went through your backpack while you were in PE. And we searched your locker.
Jacqueline: You'd better not have touched my mirror. Or my Chris Brown poster.
AP: Your locker was clean. Nurse Ames.
Nurse Ames takes a hesitant step forward.
Nurse Ames: Jacqueline, take off your clothes
Jacqueline: Say what?
Nurse Ames: I'm going to perform a strip-search on you for illegal drugs.
Jacqueline: Ain't no way you getting freaky deaky with me, white girl.
AP: Three different students said they saw you distributing drugs.
Jacqueline: They saw me distributing Spicy Cheetohs. That's all I been passing around.
Nurse: I need you strip down to your bra and underwear.
Jacquline: And I need you to kiss my sweet, sculpted ass.
AP: Jacqueline, do as you're told.
Jacqueline: Where's your warrant? You gotta have a warrant. I know 'cause it was on my last week's civic's test.
AP: We don't need documentation. The Supreme Court said so.
Jacqueline: Well, the Supreme Court can line up and kiss my ass when you're done with it. You know what my homie Ronaldo and my momma going to do to you if you lay a hand on me?
Nurse: Please undress down to your bra and panties.
Jacqueline: This some kind of hidden camera prank? We on Jackass or something?
Nurse: Everything but your bra and your panties.
Jacqueline: You two into some kind of three-way thing? Is that what this is? Cause Jacqueline don't roll that way. And I'll report you. I swear I will.
The AP nods at the nurse who approaches Jacqueline ready to remove her blouse. Jacqueline puts up her fists ready to defend her honor.
Jacqueline: I wouldn't do that, Missy, 'cause I'll find out where you stay. And when my homies and me knock on your door at 4 a.m...
The AP and the nurse step aside and whisper to each other.
AP: Okay, Jacqueline. We're going to let you go this time with a warning. But know that you're under a cloud of suspicion. And we're keeping an eye on you.
Jacqueline heads toward the door, stops, turns toward the AP and the nurse.
Jacqueline: And know that you all best keep out my business.
She exits.
According to newspaper reports, with the exception of Justice Ginsburg, the only woman on the high court, who seems appalled by the assistant principal's actions, all the other justices seem to be leaning toward allowing school districts to perform strip-searches.
Perhaps our male justices have lost their collective minds. Perhaps they have no clue how even the slightest put down can damage a middle schooler's psyche. Perhaps they don't realize how Savana Redding's life has been turned inside out by the events that went down in her middle school nurse's office six years ago. Perhaps they don't understand the concept of simple privacy and decency.
But if the Supreme Court sides with the Safford School District , then pity the poor administrators, nurses, campus cops and PE coaches who will conduct these strip-searches. Because they'll find out that when they humiliate the wrong student, well, as they say on my campus, payback is a bitch.