But he said he also has heard angry remarks from students who think the prom-admissions test violates a student's right to privacy. Balancing act Requiring all prom-goers to submit to an alcohol test is atypical in the history of Delaware, though Newark High School has had a test kit on hand for about a decade. At Newark, school officials use it soley to check prom-goers who appear to be inebriated and deny they've been drinking. St. Mark's High School Principal Mark Freund said finding the right approach with teens is a balancing act for parents and school officials. He said the use of a test at the prom is intriguing, but he wonders what happens to privacy and trust when you require students to take mandatory alcohol tests.
Alcohol is the teen-age drug of choice.
Teens have even started carrying it in water bottles and fruit drinks to disguise its use. In 1999, the University of Delaware's Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies found that 46 percent of 11th-graders had at least one drink within the month of its annual survey. The center's studies also show that on average, Delaware students take their first drink at 12. The average age nationally is 13. That's a huge quantity of alcohol.