Sunday, 12 March 2000
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/082-8958.html
PHOENIX (AP) - A high school actor was suspended for seven
days for using inappropriate language on stage, even though the
words were in the script of the school's recent production.
Jon Peacock, 17, a senior at Agua Fria High School in Avondale
who appeared in the ``Little Shop of Horrors,'' said he slipped
and used the phrase after he was warned not to by school administrators.
He said school officials did not demand the script change until
after the play was in production, making it difficult to switch
gears.
Peacock, who said he has a 4.02 grade-point average and an academic
scholarship to Arizona State University, was notified of the suspension
earlier this week. He said it was too harsh for ``an honest slip-up.''
Peacock appealed the suspension but was turned down.
Don Cloud, Agua Fria's principal, said he cannot comment on a
student's discipline but that district policy does not allow vulgar
language on campus. ``Even teachers have been suspended for inappropriate
language,'' he said.
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