Spanish V students in Senora Cherry Huckleberry’s class were getting ready for their bi monthly fiesta that centers around the class’s current unit on April 12 at NC when an unexpected turn of events changed the course of the day. 

Students are required to bring in their own homemade dish that comes from the country they focused on all unit, Spanish III teacher Senora Amy Whitehead said. The goal is that each dish represents the country and what the student learned from the unit. 

“It’s truly such a special day when we have our fiestas, since we all come together to celebrate these countries and their native foods,” Spanish V student Lydia Margarita Del Carmen Inclan ‘24 said. 

On Friday, the fiesta appeared to be functioning as normal. Senora Huckleberry was eager to present a “non alcoholic” sangria recipe she brought from home for all the students to make and drink, Spanish V student Wilferd Jones’ 24 said. 

“Frankly, I would be lying if I didn’t say I enjoy a spicy and sweet and vivacious Central American sangria from time to time. Especially after those board meetings,” Principal Tennifer Jyrell said. “But the incident that occurred in room 342 was outrageous.”

That day, Senora Huckleberry was under the impression that she brought in a non-alcoholic drink, but the exact opposite was in her possession.

By mistake, she rapidly poured the plastic cups with this “Sangria mocktail,” Jones said. 

“I didn’t realize what I was consuming and it all happened so fast,” Del Carmen Inclan said. “The sangria was so sweet, no one even tasted it. We also pretended to chug actual alcohol as a joke and we like to tease Senora but little did we know what we were chugging was actual sangria.”

The students then went on for about 30 minutes, having fun and talking, but the students’ behavior got progressively more bizarre, Huckleberry said.

“My students were slouching over and mumbling random things,” she said. “One student even came to my desk, swiped everything off of it, and started to violently complete her missing assignments. It was mortifying.” 

Students then left the class quickly and started harassing students learning in classes nearby with a fart machine that was used as a prank on their teacher only a week before the incident, Jryell said. 

“My students were confused but frankly amused by the whole thing. There was so much ruckus going on outside the classroom, and my immediate reaction was to get a security guard,” math teacher Paul Pelvis said. 

At this time, LT administration is still investigating the incident and will further address the consequences of the Spanish teacher responsible for the intoxication.

“I am deeply remorseful for my actions, and it truly was a simple mistake. My hope moving forward is to reach out to all parents and families involved,” Huckleberry said.