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Bringing Novelty Gum to School Could Get Student Expelled
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
Bear in mind this is not the kind of novelty gum you used to order off the back of your comic books -- you know, the kind that tasteed like garlic. This is weapons-grade novelty gum. It gives off a mild electric shock.
Like a joy buzzer.
Fortunately, a 13-year-old at Andrew Jackson Middle School in Cross Lanes, W.Va., did not bring a joy buzzer on a school field trip. That might have landed him in Guantanamo Bay. Because we're talking novelty gum, he may get by with just being expelled from school.
For novelty gum?!
Times have changed. WOWK, the CBS affiliate in Charleston, W. Va., reports school officials consider any gag items that give off electric shocks to be potentially deadly weapons. A joy buzzer could presumably kill someone with a heart condition.
The gum-packing hooligan apparently wasn't considering such a grim possibility when he brought the gum on a school field trip last month. WOWK reports a teacher confiscated the gum, and the boy was immediately suspended for 10 days -- pending an expulsion hearing.
Kanawha County School District Superintendent Ron Duerring refused to answer questions from the station on the case. He simply cited state law that school districts are required to follow in such cases.
"Obviously, I'm upset, because my son has never been in trouble before," the boy's father, Harry Glaspell, tells the station. "It's a toy. I don't understand how they consider it a deadly weapon. It's not a gun or a knife."
Glaspell tells WOWK school officials recommend his son be expelled for 12 months.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 3)
6-13-2011 @ 5:09PM
kerry wenrich said...the school didn't know what it really was so they acted as they saw fit
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6-13-2011 @ 5:24PM
billy112140 said...This country has gone totally insane.
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6-13-2011 @ 5:36PM
Lorayne Thornton said...What is the word Gum or Gun
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6-13-2011 @ 5:39PM
L.Borja said...The goverment is a one size fits all mentality. Our children are being taught to never question goverment authority. Most adults really believe if they give up their civil liberty the goverment will keep them from harm. Schools need to take back the common sense they claim they're teaching our children.
Reply
6-14-2011 @ 3:43AM
Lynn Fischer said...This aol writer says, "tasteed" instead of tasted in the second paragraph. It makes aol look very sloppy.
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6-13-2011 @ 9:04PM
Robert said...There is just one more reason why our kids will never learn ANYTHING in our schools. With MORONS like that in charge the best thing to do is take your kids out of school. Believe me they will be much better off in the long run. We can ALL agree on that.
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6-13-2011 @ 6:09PM
Bond said...This Child brought Gum into a Gum free zone, when are We going to stop this insanity and institute nationwide Gum control.
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6-13-2011 @ 6:10PM
Theygotitrightalmost said...I reluctantly agree with the school system on this one. That is what you get when you have zero tolerance. The 10 day suspension was more suitable than the expulsion. However with zero tolerance that is what you get.
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6-14-2011 @ 7:57PM
Tish said...10 suspension is not appropriate. When there have been many students before him in other schools that got off with a verbal warning. Consistency is key when you have a zero tolerance.
6-13-2011 @ 6:14PM
dougalcandy said...I believe the 10 day suspension was suffiecient. I am a teacher and dean, and currently work in a suspension hearing office for students who are suspended for serious offenses. We routinely give a 10 day suspension for a first offense weapon such as a knife. Expulsion should be only used for extreme offenses like assault, or putting another student or a teacher in the hospital.
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6-13-2011 @ 7:42PM
J.H. said...Obviously you've misread the article. The student did not bring a GUN into school. He brought in GUM (you know, the stuff you chew and blow into a bubble, and garlic flavored to boot). What's a matter? Can't you tell the difference between Bazooka Gum and an actual bazooka? If you're that strict in your school, may I suggest going to a South American country and try out for dictator.
6-14-2011 @ 8:00PM
Tish said...You are both wrong. It was a prank gum that gives off a .07 milliamp of electricity. Completely harmless even for someone with a heart condition and that comes straight from a cardiac nurse.
6-13-2011 @ 6:34PM
Doug Brown said......I think we need to have rules....but each case of someone breaking a rule should be dealt with individually, at each school, or whereever. "Zero" tolerance rules, and their consequences, sometimes go way over the boundaries. The one person said they were sent to the office for bringing marbles...?? is, were they out of where they should be....we took marbles to school during the 50's, to use before, after, or at recess..and didn't get into trouble, unless they were out at the wrong times...."kids" are kids...and do need to learn rules....and as someone stated...they could be made to clean desks or chairs of stuck-on gum.....they should not be expelled...the administration needs to look at things thru a "positive" eye.....
Reply
6-13-2011 @ 6:34PM
Nancy said...If teachers & administrators would pay attention to TEACHING & not focus on such ridiculous "crimes" our children wouldn't graduate thinking Paul Revere rode to warn the British!
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6-13-2011 @ 6:53PM
justme171 said...Yes, It's ALWAYS the teacher's fault. You can't imagine how SICK I am of hearing smart mouth parents like yourself blame teachers for YOUR shortcomings as a parent. So, by your way of thinking, it could also be said that if the parent of this student had paid more attention to him then maybe he would be better behaved and not end up facing suspension or expulsion.
6-14-2011 @ 8:07PM
Tish said...The boy has never been in trouble at all, ever. He makes straight A's. The shock gum he brought to school was bought on a 5th grade field trip under the supervision of a teacher. The teacher was making sure he did not buy any toy guns or toy knives. You can sit here pointing fingers all day. It still does not change the fact of how blown out of proportion this is. He's not the first kid to bring the shock gum to school but he is the first to be this severely punished over something that cannot even be modified into a deadly weapon. According to the school code, intent to cause bodily injury or death has to be proven. This kid did not have the intent.
6-13-2011 @ 6:38PM
Mike said...If pranks were dealt with in this manner when I was in school, I'd be on death row. This is story is ridiculous.Kids ,nor adults can have fun anymore.
Reply
6-13-2011 @ 7:10PM
Sue said...You see the result of liberal lawyers for the last 2-3 generations. Back when being a lawyer was an honorable profession, cases like this were not only laughed out of court, lawyers who brought these to court were fined or disbarred. yes this is a school decison for now, but it comes from decades of liberal lawyers demanding frivilous things through the courts so that conservatives have no point but to demand that laws being stringent. Decades ago, this child would have spent MAYBE 1 day in detention. Maybe. I hope you liberals are happy.....
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6-13-2011 @ 6:45PM
Duke said...This again shows what crap we are getting to run our schools. Come on 3 detentions would have been fine. Why are we getting the dumbest of the dumb in school administration? Most could not make it in a real job. It has become the dumping grounds for Mc Donald managers. Sorry McDonalds.
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6-14-2011 @ 1:01AM
Former WV school student said...I believe that the young man should be expelled because that could have been very dangerous to other students. The school system statewide needs to also do more there about bullying too. I was bullied for 2 years over my Epilepsy, a seizure disorder and nothing was ever done to the bullies. Personally, I would not recommend WV as a place to live if you have children unless parents plan to home school their children.
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