HONOR ROLL TEEN SUSPENDED FOR SIPPING SANGRIA

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A high school senior and four-year honor
society student was banished from campus for the rest of the year for
sipping sangria she was given on her first day of an internship.

Jennifer Coonce, 17, was suspended for 10 days from East Lake High
School and can no longer be a member of the National Honor Society.

She will be allowed only to take classes at home over a speakerphone
through a program called teleschool, which does not offer the advanced
placement and honors courses she was taking.

The Pinellas County School District has a zero-tolerance alcohol
policy and even a sip brings stiff punishment.

``I've never even had a detention my whole life,'' said Jennifer, who
has a 3.5 grade point average. ``It's so frustrating.''

Nancy Zambito, director of school operations, said school policy
applies regardless of how little alcohol is consumed.

``Guns, alcohol and drugs: Those are the only things we're really
rigid about,'' Ms. Zambito said. ``And I don't apologize for that
because those three things kill kids.''

The employees at Interiors by Terry D, a Clearwater decorating firm,
were about to toast a woman who was leaving when Jennifer's boss
poured her a glass of sangria. She took two sips.

Jennifer was suspended on Oct. 19 after her parents unwittingly
reported it. They wanted school administrators to remind the company
of its responsibilities when supervising minors.

The punishment means that Jennifer cannot take part in extracurricular
activities.

``I can't go to homecoming. I can't go to football games. ... It's
depressing,'' she said.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry