SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) - A high school teacher was suspended for a classroom experiment that caused several students to vomit after drinking large amounts of milk.
Jeff Ferguson, a chemistry and physics teacher at Smithfield-Selma High School, organized the experiment last week to test the body's ability to neutralize acids in milk.
It was intended to show the body can handle only so much before a natural reaction occurs and the person vomits. Out of 42 students in two classes, at least five did just that.
The teacher's attorney, Lamar Armstrong, said students were not required to participate, and students had receptacles in case they became ill.
``If anybody wanted to quit at any time, they could have,'' Armstrong said.
Ferguson videotaped the experiment for later analysis, as he does all experiments. A photographer also was there taking pictures for the yearbook.
Parents alerted school administrators about the incident last Wednesday. Ferguson was sent home the next day and was suspended with pay Tuesday, pending an investigation by a law firm hired by the school district.
Meanwhile, Ferguson is seeking a court order that would allow him to return.
Jeff Ferguson, a chemistry and physics teacher at Smithfield-Selma High School, organized the experiment last week to test the body's ability to neutralize acids in milk.
It was intended to show the body can handle only so much before a natural reaction occurs and the person vomits. Out of 42 students in two classes, at least five did just that.
The teacher's attorney, Lamar Armstrong, said students were not required to participate, and students had receptacles in case they became ill.
``If anybody wanted to quit at any time, they could have,'' Armstrong said.
Ferguson videotaped the experiment for later analysis, as he does all experiments. A photographer also was there taking pictures for the yearbook.
Parents alerted school administrators about the incident last Wednesday. Ferguson was sent home the next day and was suspended with pay Tuesday, pending an investigation by a law firm hired by the school district.
Meanwhile, Ferguson is seeking a court order that would allow him to return.
