I believe all schools should perform backpack and locker checks.

I look forward to a engaging debate. I will begin by pointing out key terms in the resolution. While the resolution is "I believe schools should preform both backpack and locker checks" My opponent has insinuated that this should be a daily occurrence in his opening argument, in which he states "The reason why I think we should have backpack and locker searches DAILY". Plus he has poor phrasing. The actual resolution should be "The Enforcement of Daily Backpack and Locker Checks Would be Beneficial to the United States. " Therefore, I as con win if I can prove that DAILY backpack and locker searches are more harmful than beneficial. ===Practicality & Ideals=== Pro's argument is a rare case that fails on both counts of practical application and idealism. Practical: Likely to succeed or be effective in real circumstances; feasible. Ideal: Conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence; embodying an ideal. Pro argues that backpack searches and locker searches should be done daily. My opponent claims this is necessary to PREVENT violence and ensure safety. Con questions the feasibility of such a course of action. My opponent brings out several examples of school violence, however fails to consider all the variables and provide a sensible course of action. Who does the responsibility of locker searching fall upon? Assuming it takes an average of five minutes to frisk a backpack/locker pair, with your average student faculty ratio of 16:1[1], it would eighty minutes to preform a daily locker/backpack check assuming full staff participation. Pro wants our taxes to pay for a daily, eighty minute checkup of lockers and backpacks. Pro wants to extend school days by eighty minutes to uphold the safety of our children. Is this truly justifiable? Even with a separate task force, with over 14,000,000 high school students[2], a daily twenty minute backpack and locker search translates into 3,500,000 unnecessary employees. Which is completely outrageous, really. While many would appreciate the sentiment, a daily locker and backpack search is just not feasible. Moreover, Pro must realize that locker and backpack searches are preventative measures. We are not fixing frustrations and violence, we are creating a coping mechanism to deal with teenage violence. We are not fixing the problem, we are simply finding a way to deal with the consequences. A better solution would be to educate kids on how to deal with violence, not try to prevent violence with brute force. Yet my opponent advocates a eighty minute expenditure to mitigate the consequences of violence, while ignoring the cause. ===Privacy=== "we are allowed to search belongings without probable cause in order to safeguard our children. " In Pro's argument, my opponent blatantly misinterprets Terry V Ohio in order to make a point. While Terry V Ohio allows officers to frisk people on the street WITHOUT "probable cause", an officer still needs "reasonable suspicion"[3] to frisk someone. This means that the police cannot go around abusing privacy based on prejudice. Pro clearly ignores this aspect of Terry V Ohio. Officers cannot and will not ever be able to frisk someone on the street simply because he/she is black. This is the equivalent of my opponent saying that it is okay to frisk students simply because they are young. By implementing locker/backpack searches, Pro is actively encouraging discrimination against youth. ===Summary=== My opponent is proposing that we spend a ridiculous amount of time and money on dealing with the consequences of violence, while ignoring the cause of the problem itself. That money and time is better spent on dealing with issues such as child abuse, gun/drug awareness, and other probable causes of teenage violence. Con vote. Pro also either thinks that it is okay to frisk someone just because he/she is a student. Which is really the equivalent of saying that it is okay to frisk someone just because he/she is black. Con vote. Thank you. ===Sources=== [1] . http://www.edreform.com... [2] . http://www.betterhighschools.org... [3] . http://en.wikipedia.org...