Cape Elizabeth High School students want out of the year-long contract binding them to the school’s substance abuse rules, but administrators are not budging.

The current policy states that for all activities “substance use is prohibited throughout the school year and not just through a sports season” and also that “all violations are cumulative and carry over into other sport seasons through one school year.”

A junior who is a member of the football team and plays two other sports spoke on condition of anonymity about his recent “self-referral” for violation of the policy. The student turned himself in after learning a friend had been called into the principal’s office for questioning on the matter.

He and another student turned themselves in, he said, because a one-game suspension was more acceptable than being off the team for the rest of the season. He wonders now whether it was the best decision.

“We might have been able to get away with it if we hadn’t turned ourselves in,” he said. This student said he doesn’t make a habit out of drinking during the season. “It was after the dance,” he said, “it was a one time thing, and I didn’t really drink that much.”

That student supports seasonal contracts because it would mean a student’s upcoming season would not be affected if they get caught drinking in the off-season. “If they make a mistake and drink in the off-season they won’t get into trouble,” he said. He thinks seasonal contracts will stop drinking in the on-season.

Mary Cox, a senior who is president of the Student Advisory Council, said the punishment for not self-referring – being kicked off the team for the rest of the season, for the first offense – is too extreme. She said some kids were taking advantage of the policy, only turning themselves in after somebody discovered they had been drinking.

Cox said this undermined the original intent of the self-referral part of the policy, which was to reward students who display good character.

The committee does plan to reduce the punishment for students who are caught or found out without turning themselves in, though the specifics have not been decided yet. And the group will impose the same punishments whether students play sports or participate in other extra-curricular activities, which now have different consequences.

Trish Brigham, a School Board member who chairs a committee studying the substance abuse policy, said the committee is leaning toward keeping students’ substance-abuse contracts covering the enter year.

Brigham said she supports year-long contracts. “The same driving force really applies throughout the year … keeping kids safe and helping them make decisions,” she said. She also said participating in school activities is a privilege and though students may not participate all year, they are perceived as representatives of the school for the duration of the year.

“People will associate them with Cape whether it’s during the football season or after the football season,” she said.

Heather Furman, vice president of the junior class and a member of the Student Advisory Council, said there is already a law in place preventing minors from drinking and having the school involved is unnecessary. Furman plays field hockey and is on the mock trial and debate teams.

She said the school is taking a bigger role than it should. She said instead of focusing on educating students about drinking the schools takes a punitive stance.

“It’s unfair because the school doesn’t punish kids who are in extra-curriculars … in theory you’re punishing them because they’re participating,” she said.

She said signing a seasonal contract binds players’ accountability to one another. “It makes a stronger bond on the team,” she said. Furman said the kids do not respect the contract because they are being held accountable to the administration rather than each other. She said a lot of teams don’t even talk about the contract.

Police Officer Mark Dorval, also a member of the committee, said self-referring is about taking responsibility for your actions. “It’s like kids at a party. Who are you going to trust more … the kids who run off or the kids who stay?”