Heavy Breathing at Santa Barbara High School

It looks like sobriety checkpoints are coming to your local high school dance:

Students who attend homecoming dances this weekend will be doing some
heavy breathing - into Breathalyzers.

At Santa Barbara High School, officials will screen every third or fourth student who arrives and anyone who appears drunk, said Principal Paul Turnbull.

Dos Pueblos High School administrators will use the Breathalyzer only if they suspect a problem, said Principal Quentin Panek.

"There's a lot of heavy drinking going on," said Penny Jenkins, executive director of the local nonprofit Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. "Something's got to be done."

Santa Barbara High students offered mixed reactions to the testing.

"I think it's a good idea if they check randomly," said sophomore Kelsea Peace.

But senior Alexander Argyropoulos said alcohol testing encourages students to use drugs that cannot be detected with the Breathalyzers. Drinking, he said, is "better than possibly trying cocaine."

This may be the first high school in the state with its own drunk tank.