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WHO WAS THE APRIL
FOOL?
On April Fools' Day, spoof stories are cunningly hidden among genuine news
items in newspapers the world over. So when we read a report headed Boy
sticks out tongue, is suspended in the April 1 issue of the El
Paso Times we suspected, not unreasonably, that it was a hoax.
"Sal Santana II, a 12-year-old Magoffin Middle School student, said he stuck
his tongue out at a girl who declined his invitation to be his girlfriend,"
David Crowther reported. "School district administrators viewed the incident as
sexual harassment, suspended him for three days and are considering placing him
in an alternative school."
The boy's mother, Silvia Santana, said: "This is crazy. It's a shame that a
guy trying to be cute with a girl can get himself into this much trouble. I
don't think he even knows what sexual harassment is."
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El Paso is a sunbaked city in Southwest Texas,
adjoining New Mexico and Mexico. The City of El Paso (estimated
population 563,662) is the fifth largest in Texas. On the other side of
the Rio Grande is Mexico's fifth largest city, Juarez (population
1,217,818).
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She and her husband, Salvador Santana, were to meet the district's director
of student services, Gloria Boyer, who had authority to set aside the planned
disciplinary measures in Sal's case. Salvador Santana said they would appeal to
the school board if necessary and would probably sue the district regardless of
what happened.
"It's got to be done because God knows how many other kids have been involved
in something like this," Santana said, adding that his son has had no
disciplinary problems in school this year.
The report quoted El Paso school district spokesman Luis Villalobos as having
said: "This is a real sensitive issue, but nonetheless one that is covered in
the student handbook, which we enforce. He's facing the discipline measure
that's appropriate for the offense."
Well, who could be blamed for suspecting that the story was an April Fools'
Day fabrication? To find out if Salvador Santana really existed, we googled his
name, and discovered not only that he's for real, but that he's CEO of El Paso
Actualization Company, and a man not afraid to speak his mind. El Paso Inc.,
the city's business paper, said that Santana, speaking about his experience
dealing with the El Paso Empowerment Zone and the city's Economic Development
Office, had remarked: "I'd have done better if I'd stabbed the Mayor's dog."
So it seems Crowther's April 1 story was no joke. People will be chuckling
over it for years. It has already appeared on a dozen "humour" websites, and
seems certain to proliferate, in the way such bizarre anecdotes often do.
ALL-TIME BEST APRIL
FOOLS' HOAX
On April 1, 1957, the British Broadcasting Corporation's Panorama
program reported on a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland.
TV viewers saw Richard Dimbleby walking among trees growing spaghetti,
while workers pulled the pasta off the trees and put it into baskets.
When viewers called to ask how they could grow spaghetti plants, the
BBC replied "Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and
hope for the best." It was a classic April Fool hoax. For a full
account, click on
Spaghetti
Harvest. |
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