Two local news items this past week made me wonder just what kind of messages we are sending to our young people today.

The first was a story about the Foxboro school department planning to use new testing devices on students suspected of being under the influence of alcohol. The second was about a new bill co-sponsored by state Rep. Betty Poirier and many others guaranteeing students specific rights of religious expression.

In Foxboro the plan is to test students not just at events like proms, but during normal school hours as well. The test involves blowing into a device that gives a blood alcohol level in seconds. If the reading is .02 or higher, the student will be considered to have been drinking. Students who refuse to take the test will be considered in violation.

Foxboro officials say the new devices will take "the mystery" out of their decision-making process. They may test students who exhibit erratic behavior, slurred speech, strong foreign odor on their breath or clothing, glassy eyes, or an unsteady gait or agitated state. They say their goal is to "make the school safe for everyone."

Meanwhile, the religion bill guarantees students the right to religious expression while in school. It allows them to engage in prayer or a moment of silence and to publicly express their religious beliefs. "There is no reason you shouldn't have your constitutional rights to express yourself when you enter a school," Rep. Poirier remarked.

I agree with Rep. Poirier. But I don't think the constitutional rights of students stops at or should be limited to allowing expressions of religion. I believe they are citizens, and are entitled to other basic constitutional rights - such as being free from unreasonable search and seizure.

It is easy to understand the need to keep schools safe, especially in this day and age. It is also easy to appreciate the tremendously difficult job facing school administrators and teachers in accomplishing this. It is only natural to want to give them the tools they need to keep our beloved children safe and provide them with an environment where they can learn.

But as these two stories clearly show, we adults tend to play fast and loose with the rights of our children. When it suits our purposes, we make sure their rights are protected. But when it makes things easier for us, we have no problem trampling those rights which - if the situation applied to us - we would fight tooth and nail.

Early this year Foxboro selectmen followed the recommendation of Police Chief Edward O'Leary in giving a virtual slap on the wrist to an establishment that had served alcohol to minors. This came in the wake of several teenage deaths from binge drinking, yet the chief and the board agreed this offense merited only a letter of warning, despite indications it occurred more than once.

Now town officials want to give sobriety checks to students they merely suspect of drinking, all in the name of making the schools "safer." But it seems their actions are not as much about making schools safe as they are about making their own jobs easier.

Schools are supposed to be safe havens for our kids. They should be able to go there and learn in an environment of trust. They need to feel they are physically safe, but they also need to feel they are safe in other ways. They need to feel respected, they need to be shown the values and freedoms we teach them are practiced as well as preached.

Allowing freedom of religious expression is a good thing. But do we do that more for the kids or ourselves? Is it aimed at benefiting students, or at benefiting the organized religions where legislators know a lot of votes exist? Do we really want to guarantee the right to speak out on religion, but take away the right not to be searched for simply appearing angry or agitated?

Foxboro is being hypocritical in their approach to the problem of teen drinking, and their plan should be scrapped. But if the religion bill passes, at least students will be able to pray in school for their constitutional rights.

BILL GOUVEIA is a local columnist and longtime local town official. He can be reached at aninsidelook@aol.com.