Students Say They Were Suspended For Attempting ‘Cinnamon Challenge’

Five students were disciplined on Friday for causing a disturbance in the cafeteria.

According to students, they attempted to imitate a YouTube trend in which people try to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon powder.

The spice challenge often causes choking and problems breathing, 10TV’s Danielle Elias reported.

More than a dozen students said that they participated in Friday’s challenge, and a spokesperson for the Columbus City School said that five students at Beechcroft High School were disciplined for “horseplay in the cafeteria.”

“It’s free time,” senior Monesha Reed said. “He said we could have our phones out, our iPods out, laptops out, anything else. So I feel like, since it’s our free time, why not be able to do it?”

A group of seniors said that a group of juniors took the challenge on Thursday, and the seniors tried it on Friday.

“Everyone had a spoonful of cinnamon,” senior Dynasti Dawson said. “We decided to all take the challenge at the same time.”

School officials said that the school’s principal met with students before Friday’s incident warning them not to cause disturbances in the cafeteria.

“He did not say Cinnamon Challenge,” Dawson said. “He did not say, ‘Don’t cause a disturbance at lunch.’ He did not say, ‘Don’t have fun at lunchtime,’ and I thought we were all having fun. Why is this fun? Because we were all seeing who could last throughout the Cinnamon Challenge. I think it’s funny.”

The five students were suspended for two days each, Elias reported.

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