The Merriam Webster Dictionary definition for flatulence is brief: "flatus expelled through the anus." And while it's a natural bodily function, it seems some Camden-Rockport Middle School eighth-grade boys are taking it to new heights and making a game of seeing who can expel the loudest and grossest flatus.
| Do tell? Junior high school boys blowing farts, is it? Has that ever happened before? |
According to this week's Fire Cracker school newsletter though, the joke's on the boys as the penalty for "intentional farting" is now a detention.
| Whoa! That really stinks! |
"Strange, but true, thanks to a bunch of 8th grade boys, intentional farting has been banned from CRMS," the newsletter said. "It started out as a funny joke and eventually turned into a game. This is the first rule at CRMS that prevents the use of natural bodily functions. The penalty for intentional farting is a detention, so keep it to yourself!"
| If you light it, it's two weeks, dammit! |
According to a group of seventh-grade students milling around downtown following Friday's storm-related early release, the eighth-graders' escapades are well known in the school. "They would do it in science class and other places," said Jordan Tyler. "It's a natural occurrence and we all do it 16 times a day."
| ... though after 8th grade we don't usually roll up on one cheek to crack one off. |
When questioned where he learned that information, Tyler and the other students all said it was true, though they couldn't remember where they heard it. One of the other students, Kyle Ruger, said the act by the boys was funny, but he had mixed feelings about whether it was appropriate.
| When you get older you'll sometimes have mixed feelings about how funny it was, but you'll have no doubt whether it was appropriate. |
Jordan Knowlton minced no words when she expressed how she felt, saying, "It's gross."
| Pulled his finger, did you, Jordan? |
Remy LeVine said he was in the class when CRMS science teacher Brad LaRoche talked to all the eighth-grade boys about the issue, as well as the consequences. Attempts to reach CRMS Principal Maria Libby Friday afternoon were unsuccessful and school Superintendent Patricia Hopkins said she had not heard anything about the issue or the alleged suspected result, though she did get a good chuckle out of the news. |