STUDENTS SUSPENDED OVER 'ECSTACY POSE' AT PROM
LODI, Calif. -- Two high school seniors were suspended after school officials said they made an alleged drug-related hand gesture in their prom picture.
Josh Niemeyer and his date are seen making the letter "T" with their hands in a picture taken during Lodi High School's prom.
The seniors said they made the gesture because the prom's theme was "Techno City."
But Shad Canestrino from the Lodi Police Department said the gesture represents the words "thiz" or "thizzin'," which are slang terms for Ecstasy, or MDMA.
Canestrino said there's a a whole subculture that goes along with "thiz" and "thizzin'' which stems from Mac Dre songs. Mac Dre, a Bay-Area based rapper who died in 2004, coined the term.
"We knew there was another meaning for it, like double-sided. But our intentions were not to promote drugs or anything. Just 'T' for 'techno,'" Niemeyer said.
Niemeyer and his date were suspended for three days.
"I just think the school has jumped to conclusions and they have made their own interpretation and it isn't fair," parent Lisa Russell said.
Several Lodi High students wore hand-painted T-shirts on Thursday in support of Josh and his date.
According to students, the "T" gesture signifies drug use only when it's accompanied by a facial expression and a slouching body.
The school's principal and the district superintendent said they would not comment on student disciplinary matters.
