Make it stand out.

By Laura Acuff (Tolentino)

When another student accused eighth grader Savana Redding of possessing prescription-strength ibuprofen at school, officials did not ask Redding about the accusation. They did not search her belongings. Instead, they subjected the 13-year-old honor student to a strip search without explanation.

“They asked me to pull out my bra and move it from side to side, Redding said. “They made me open my legs and pull out my underwear.”

Officials found no pills.

Now, the Safford Unified School District faces legal charges by Redding, who suffered from anxiety, distrust and ulcers after the incident. The Supreme Court will hear arguments April 21.

For the protection of American children in public schools, the Supreme Court must rule in Redding’s favor.

Assistant Principal Kerry Wilson, who ordered the strip search, suspected Redding because another student, caught with prescription drugs, implicated Redding and because school staff members thought they smelled alcohol around a “rowdy” group of students at a school dance weeks earlier.

Despite Wilson’s suspicions’ basis on other students—students already deemed untrustworthy—responsibility to secure a safe learning environment might have justified a search of Redding’s purse.

In 1985, a Supreme Court ruling permitted school officials to search students’ purses without warrant or possible cause with reasonable suspicions. Yet a fine line exists between preserving students’ personal safety and preserving their freedoms.

Purses are inanimate objects. They cannot carry lifelong scars from abuse.

Wilson’s order stripped the girl of her dignity along with her clothes, establishing her as an object without right to feel, object or even ask why. An unfavorable ruling toward Redding would effectively strip American children of rights each day they attend the institutions meant to educate and protect.

The Supreme Court ruling must favor Redding. It must protect the children Safford Unified School District officials would not.

First Place winning editorial for Texas Interscholastic Press Association’s 2009 on-site competition. Events and persons depicted are from a fictional prompt presented to competitors.