Principal on Leave After “Cinnamon Challenge”
District investigating after students tried a painful experiment in school.
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012 | Updated 4:11 PM EDT
Getty Images, Gareth Fuller /PA Wire
Cinnamon sticks at Kizimbani Spice Plantation in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa.
A New Haven principal is on leave after students took part in an unusual fad called the “cinnamon challenge."
C. Ana Rodriguez, principal of the Clinton Avenue School, is on leave until further notice, according to a letter sent to parents from Assistant Principal Sandy Kaliszewski.
The "cinnamon challenge" entails a person trying to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon.
Several YouTube videos are posted of people trying to swallow of spoonful of cinnamon with no water and the pain it causes.
"The activity can have harmful impacts on children, particularly children with asthma, as the cinnamon absorbs the saliva in the mouth and throat making it difficult or impossible to swallow, and may result in breaking issues and other adverse physical reactions," Kaliszewski wrote in the letter.
According to the New Haven Register, Rodriguez witnessed the students attempting the stunt and did nothing to stop them.
The state Department of Children & Families is also investigating, the paper reported.
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