I would totally agree with the young lady who wrote about the searches at the high school (“Search was wrong,” April 16, page 6) if I turned back the clock to the 1980s when I was in school.

As a teenager I thought everyone was invading my privacy, including my parents, principal and any authority figure. Now that I’m grown and have two kids of my own I am 100 percent for searches in the school. These types of searches promote safety and security. Actually, I think every high school should be set up like airports. We often forget about past tragedies like Columbine, Westside Middle School, and Pine Middle School. I absolutely agree with Martha Depsey’s feelings about her stuff being searched because of a handful of people. It’s usually a handful of people who ruin it for the rest of us, even as adults. But if I have to give up some of my civil liberties to make this a safer world for my children and all children, I am willing to do that.

We live in a society today where if you kill a moose out of season you get 10 years in jail, but if someone molests a child you’re lucky if they get 5 years. That’s how messed up our world is.

I commend Dempsey on her letter because that is exactly how a teenager should feel. She has a bright future ahead of her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a lawyer or congresswoman some day.

Mark Welch-Thompson

Kennebunk