Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 29, 1993 TAG: 9301290221
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Landmark News Service
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
MOM THINKS SUSPENSION OF SON STINKS
Two sixth-graders have been suspended and face expulsion because they brought into Blair Middle School a vial of water and ammonium sulfide commonly known as a "stink bomb."The mother of one of the boys, Ruth Lord, said it was not a "bomb" - just a little glass tube that when broken emits an odor like rotten eggs. It was not let off.
This isn't Lord's first run-in with Blair over school rules. Her daughter, 14-year-old Kimberly Ann Broussard, lost a highly publicized case in federal court last year after she was suspended for wearing a T-shirt emblazoned: "Drugs Suck!"
Theron Moore, a chemistry and physics professor at Norfolk State University, confirmed that the mixture is not an "explosive."
School officials wrote on his suspension notice that Lord's son, 11-year-old Joshua Paul Broussard, violated rules against bringing "fireworks/explosives" into school. The boy carried one stink bomb into school.
George Raiss, school spokesman, said, "If that thing is set off, it's extremely disruptive to the school program."
Both Joshua and his classmate, whose family could not be reached for comment, were suspended for 10 days. Lord said her son deserved punishment but something like detention. She claimed Joshua had no intention of setting off the stink bomb in school.
Joshua has a "visual/perceptual" learning disability, his mother said. Therefore, the school system has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday to determine if "these behaviors relate to his handicapping condition."
If so, he can return to school the next day. If not, a second hearing will determine whether he should be expelled, suspended for a long period or reinstated.