As Linn State Technical College in Missouri started a new semester, it instituted a new policy upon its students.

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported that all 1,200 students at this institution were required to submit urine samples in what might be considered the most extensive drug-testing policy at a public college or university in the United States.

The test was conducted in response to a survey of an advisory council of industry and business leaders.

According to the Chronicle, more than 80 percent of the respondents supported drug testing, saying it might serve to better prepare students for the drug-free work environments they will be in after graduation, according to Richard R. Pemberton, Linn State’s associate dean of student affairs.

Pemberton argues that the process is intended to ensure the safety of the students, given that this particular college provides hands-on training with heavy machinery, high-voltage electronics and even nuclear technology, according to the Chronicle.

“It’s not a matter of catching them doing something wrong and kicking them out of college,” Pemberton said. “The whole process is meant to be educational.”

This new practice is wrong and could create a precedent upon which other colleges decide to submit all of its incoming freshmen to drug testing. Colleges and universities are meant to be institutions of higher learning. Students come to these institutions to better themselves and sometimes seek them out as a final means to get their lives in order. Even if students are not kicked out as a result of this particular policy, it is possible that failure of the drug test could go on file as part of the student’s permanent record at the university.

This is not the first time a university or institution of higher learning has chosen to drug test students. According to the Chronicle, flight students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach are required to submit to random urine screenings and to disclose any citations for driving under the influence of alcohol. Macomb Community College in Michigan screens students in some of its medical programs.

Dan Viets, a lawyer working with the Missouri Civil Liberties Association, says this is the first time he’s seen a public college require drug tests for the entire student body. This includes students taking classes where they do not deal with dangerous equipment, such as accounting and communications courses.

“They seem to be on the cutting edge of violating students’ civil liberties,” Viets said.

There is also an argument being made among civil libertarians that this practice may violate the “unreasonable search and seizure” clause of the Fourth Amendment to our constitution.

There may be certain instances where drug-testing of students is appropriate. To issue a blanket drug testing of all incoming students, as Linn State has done here, raises serious questions about the rights of students. The constitutional questions raised by civil libertarians must be considered.

This incident could also set a precedent, leading other schools to point to this example as a justification for drug testing all incoming freshmen. Many promising students could potentially be rejected outright if this policy were to be implemented at other universities. The practice of drug testing students needs to be examined carefully. We must make sure the rights of students and individuals applying to institutions of higher learning are protected.