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Only a few Ashland debaters face scrutiny By DAMIAN MANN ASHLAND - An internal investigation by Ashland High School officials into the possible violation of a drug and alcohol policy by students in Oklahoma is still under way, but Principal Julie Reynolds said none were disqualified from the national speech tournament. "They did not disqualify anybody there for their behavior," said Reynolds. "Nothing happened in the course of the competition where they would disqualify them." Seven students, part of the high school's speech and debate team, attended a national competition at the University of Oklahoma recently after they won the team sweepstakes title for the 10th consecutive year this March at Southern Oregon University. While in Oklahoma, a few of the students were suspected of breaking the school's drug and alcohol policy, Reynolds said. She would not specify what type of drug might have been involved in the incident or the exact number of students under suspicion. Law enforcement agencies are not involved. "It is definitely an internal investigation," said Reynolds. "We are going to get to the bottom of it and trying to determine what really happened," she said. "We hope they can learn from their mistakes and move on." The Ashland School District has a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol. It requires expulsion of students caught with illegal substances at the school or at school events but allows offending students to return if they adhere to the terms of a behavior contract. "The purpose is not to ostracize them," Reynolds said. "But we would require a drug and alcohol assessment." John Tredway, high school speech and debate coach, refuted recent accounts of the incident. "The truth is that a few students are under investigation, not the entire team as the media seems to indicate." He said that the nature of the investigation requires the school to not be specific about the allegations. "This has not been pleasant for our team, but ultimately we will learn valuable lessons from this experience," he said. "In respecting due process and the rules governing our school policy, we cannot be specific about the allegations surrounding the speech nationals." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.