The administration has implemented a new breathalyzing system to curb the consumption of alcohol at school dances. At Homecoming this year, each student will be tested before entering.

Gunn borrowed the breathalyzer plan from Palo Alto High School (Paly) which used the same system at its Last Chance Dance the previous year and at the Kickoff Dance this year. The breathalyzers were successful in deterring intoxicated students—not one student failed the breathalyzer test going into the dance, which pleased the administration. “From an administrator’s point of view, it went great,” Paly Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said.

Along with drinking, however, dance attendance was also reduced. According to Allye Mullins, the Student Activities Director at Paly, only 130 students came to the Last Chance Dance and a little over 350 went to their first dance of the year, a significant drop from their usual attendance of over 600 students. There are many explanations for the reduced attendance. “I think some students didn’t attend out of spite,” Mullins said. “Others may actually drink at dances and no longer want to go, and these students may pressure their friends into not going.”

Some students believe that the breathalyzer system could reduce attendance at Gunn dances as well. “People who usually drink could stop going because they think it’ll be less fun and people who don’t drink may feel uncomfortable being tested,” junior Charlie Chang said.

The administration was alerted to Gunn’s drinking problem by the actions of students at the last dance. Four were caught and suspended, but it is suspected that as many as 30 to 40 intoxicated students passed undetected. “We have a responsibility to uphold the law and look out for the health and safety of our students,” principal Noreen Likins said.

Although the administration acknowledges that Gunn’s alcohol problem is not severe, their plan is to provide the best protection possible to all students that attend school events.

“It only takes one student to cause an accident,” Dean of Students James Lubbe said. “We’re trying to prevent this from happening.” The administration is trying to eliminate alcohol consumption at dances completely. “The majority of the kids are at the dance, alcohol free and having a good time,” Lubbe said. “Our goal is to make the dances completely alcohol free.”

To achieve 100 percent sobriety, the administration has decided to test each student before the dance. “It’s an issue of fairness,” Likins said. “We picked on four students while many others got in free.” In addition, the old system of trying to pick students out of a crowd by their breath or appearance was neither subjective nor precise. “We’re not experts at determining who’s drunk and who’s not,” Likins said.

To enable the administration to search students more thoroughly, they spent $2,625 on five new breathalyzers that give a pass or fail reading in a matter of seconds. If the machine senses no alcohol whatsoever, the student is free to enter, but if the breathalyzer detects alcohol, the student is asked to take another test where an actual blood alcohol level is found.

Sometimes alcohol based mouthwash can set the detector off so the administration has advised students to try to avoid any products containing alcohol even if it’s not for consumption.

Although the intention of the plan is clear, whether it will be a success is not. “We know it’s not going to stop drinking completely, but it will hopefully deter it,” Likins said.

Some students, however, object to the new tests. “The school is acting like big brother,” junior Zoe Mackay said. “The administration is stereotyping us as irresponsible teenagers, when compared to other schools we don’t even have a problem.”

Senior Nora Boyd agrees. “The crackdown this year is not going to be effective because it’s condescending,” she said. “Treating us like children is not conducive of respect.”

Although the majority of students who spoke on the topic were opposed to the new regulations, some did believe that the decision is headed in the right direction. “If the installation of breathalyzers will provide extra safety for students, I don’t see what the big deal is,” sophomore Linda Zhang said.

One concern both the students and the administration share is getting everybody into Homecoming as efficiently as possible. To make entry to the dance quickly, the administration has increased the number of entrances to the dance from two to five and plans to open the doors earlier. “We are making a tremendous effort to ensure that the event runs smoothly,” Assistant Principal Phil Winston said. In addition, if alcohol is not an issue at Homecoming, the breathalyzers may not be used for events in the future.