N.J. 7th-Grader Suspended, Drug Tested for Twirling Pencil

Photo Credit: News 12 New Jersey

A 13-year-old New Jersey boy was suspended from school Thursday for twirling his pencil around in math class and making another student uncomfortable.

Ethan Chaplin, a 7th-grader at Glen Meadow Middle School in Vernon Township, was twirling around a pencil with a pen cap on it when a student behind him yelled, “He’s making gun motions, send him to juvie!” a local news station reported.

The school suspended Ethan and ordered him to undergo a physical and psychological evaluation, his father, Michael Chaplin, told the station.

“I’m absolutely livid,” he said. “I think it’s gross misconduct at its finest. They took something so minimal and took it so far over the edge.”