Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502160102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STERLING LENGTH: Short
Just as third period was about to begin last week, the 17-year-old Park View High School senior pulled a small bottle of mouthwash from his jacket and swished some of the liquid between his teeth.
The next day, he got a date - with Park View's assistant principal, who suspended him for 10 days for violating the school system's alcohol policy.
School officials said Loar broke a rule that prohibits students from bringing to school any liquid that contains alcohol. Any infraction results in a suspension and three days in a substance abuse treatment program, which Loar is scheduled to attend next week.
The teen's parents have appealed the suspension.
``This is just crazy,'' the boy's mother, LeJuan Loar, said in an interview. ``It's not like he took a gun to school. It was an oral hygiene product.'' Loar said she bought the bottle of Cool Mint Listerine for her son two weeks ago after he expressed concern about his breath. Carter said he used the mouthwash to gargle a couple of times a day, frequently at school. ``I didn't want to bring mints or gum because some teachers don't allow that stuff in their classes,'' he said. ``I thought I was playing it safe.''
School officials don't see it that way. In a letter to Loar's parents, Park View Principal James E. Person said the youth admitted drinking the Listerine and bragged to classmates about its nearly 22 percent alcohol content.
by CNB