75 Students Tested For Alcohol After Randolph Football Game

RANDOLPH, NJ — Dozens of students underwent alcohol testing at local hospitals following the Randolph High School football game on Friday, after an empty alcohol container was found.

At least 75 students gave blood samples to avoid an automatic five-day suspension for having alcohol on school grounds. Many of those samples were given at nearby emergency rooms.

Before Friday night's home opener against Livingston High School, an empty beer container either fell or was thrown from the bleachers near school officials, superintendent Jennifer Fano said in a statement.

"Upon further investigation several other containers of alcohol were identified. There were also other indicia that the students in this section had consumed alcohol. As educators, we are charged with enforcing policy. The law requires that we send students out to be tested when it appears that they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Fano wrote.

After no one confessed to owning the alcohol, those in the student section were taken into classrooms, where their parents could take them for blood testing. Refusal to have a blood test done was considered a positive result, and would result in an automatic five day suspension at the start of the school year.

Class of 2018 student body president Nate Pangaro described a chaotic scene, where parents were told they had to find blood testing services within two hours, at their own expense, or students would face suspension.

"It seemed like whatever the question was, the conversation was just going in circles. It got very confusing when one security member told the parents to just 'take their child home', while the administration said that if a parent did that, their child would be suspended. NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON," Pangaro wrote in a public post outlining the night.

Pangaro said students were given slips ordering blood and urine screening, but nurses told students alcohol didn't show up in urine tests. Eventually, doctors decided to only take blood samples, Pangaro wrote, well after the two hours had passed.

School board candidate Christopher C. Treston echoed the chaos of the night in a Facebook post, writing, "An entire section of the bleachers was emptied, and approximately 80 students and their parents were detained in the main office before being referred to area hospitals, who performed blood tests to screen for alcohol consumption. The emergency departments at Dover and at Morristown were not given any warning of what was coming, and were overwhelmed."

Treston told the Daily Record only five students had alcohol in their system; no official number has been released.

In her statement, Fano stood by the actions taken by school administrators.

"Members of the Randolph Police were at the game and effectively assisted administration in following school procedures. It is my hope that this event leads us all to reflect. School events are meant to be a time to come together, celebrate our community, and make positive memories. Friday evening was just that for many, but for some it was not," she wrote.

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