Boy suspended for inhaling helium from balloon

[Diva]

News (http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wews/20020605/lo/1217869_1.html) - A seventh-grade Euclid boy was given detentions and suspended from recess after he grabbed a party balloon in class and inhaled the helium to alter his voice. The principal said that the act set a bad example for other students and violated school policy.

The boy's father said that the school overreacted and that the punishment was way out of line. "I was just joking around," seventh-grader Ben Horkan said. "I didn't think that anyone would get mad."

The school principal, Mary Pittinger, gave Horkan detentions and suspended him from recess for the three remaining days of the school year. Are we getting so bad that a kid can't be a kid anymore? Even if she wanted to make an 'example', to suspend him for the last three days of school is rediculous.

[SysLord]

This is fricking ridiculous. Sack the school principe and assign her to the army barracks.

[Diva]

Sadly, that's it. The Principle did mention cases where kids sucked in large amounts of helium and passed out [No cases were at her school and there was no specific information as to when and where this happened]. ... And recently a kid died from sucking in large quantities of helium.

I can understand 'concern', but not this. I can't remember a time when I was growing up and there were balloons when someone didn't do this. I never knew anyone to pass out or die from it. There's always the possibility of harm when it is abused, but this wasn't the case.

I say she over reacted and was in the wrong. Hell, even a warning and telling him to stop would be enough for me... But detention AND suspension? Waaay overboard.

[GLADIATOR]

Agreed. But things are a lot different to-day than you and my day.
Kids inhale glue to-day, I never heard of that in my day.
So schools and parents need to be more strict, cautious ect. What is really the important issue, is if any verbal warnings were given.
If no, it's too harsh.

[SysLord]

I think you missed the point here: the kid inhaled the helium to alter his voice (i have sucked hundres of balloons to do the same), not because he wanted to get high. I remember the time they banned Tip-Ex from our school because some students were getting stoned on the stuff.

[Jake]

I remember doing this as a kid. My parents would laugh. I think you can get hurt doing a lot of things, if you dont use common sense. But she treated that kid as if he was crossing a line when he only was having fun. What does she want the kids to do, sit on their hands in the middle of the room?

[Villager]

Hehe.. I used to do that a lot at work, where we have a canister of helium for balloons which is never used. I'd not get sacked, though, as the manager does it more than anyone.

It's rather amusing to see a man build like an ape talk like a chipmunk.