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 **What is the most effective way to test the body's ability to neutralize the acid in milk?** 

[|Gallon Challenge]

On November 20, 2003 CNN Reported:

SMITHFIELD, North Carolina (AP) -- A high school teacher was suspended for a classroom experiment that caused several students to vomit after drinking large amounts of milk.

Jeff Ferguson, a chemistry and physics teacher at Smithfield-Selma High School, organized the experiment last week to test the body's ability to neutralize acids in milk.

It was intended to show the body can handle only so much before a natural reaction occurs and the person vomits. Out of 42 students in two classes, 13 did just that. None required medical attention, and five students chose not to participate.

Parents alerted school administrators about the November 12 incident. Ferguson was sent home the next day and was suspended with pay Tuesday, pending an investigation by a law firm hired by the school district.

Superintendent Jim Causby said the district would decide on further action after the investigation, which could take "days to weeks."

On Wednesday, Ferguson failed to persuade a judge to let him return to the classroom. He wanted a temporary restraining order so that he could return to help his students prepare for end-of-semester exams, but Superior Court Judge Knox Jenkins denied his request.

"It's been rather unpleasant sitting at home and knowing nobody is teaching my class as effectively as I can," Ferguson said after the hearing. "There's not a lot positive about this situation."

The teacher's attorney, Lamar Armstrong, said students were not required to participate in the experiment, and students had receptacles in case they became ill.

"If anybody wanted to quit at any time, they could have," Armstrong said.

About 50 students packed a Johnston County courtroom for Wednesday's hearing to show their support.

ElizaLiv Sthuerger, 18, said she drank about a half-gallon of milk, then felt sick. While she said the experiment "may have been a little off-the-wall," Sthuerger said she supported Ferguson.

Jacob Johnson, a 16-year-old junior, added that "it's an advanced class and students are old enough that they should be mature in making those decisions."


 * On June 10, 2004 the AP Reported:**

SMITHFIELD, N.C. -- A science teacher who conducted an experiment in which students chugged milk until they vomited has been dismissed.

The Johnston County school board voted 5-1 to end Jeff Ferguson's contract seven months after he was suspended over the experiment. Ferguson had taught chemistry and physics at Smithfield-Selma High School for three years.

Ferguson did not attend the meeting, but said in an interview later he was surprised.

"We were led to believe that if we kept on the quiet side that things would be OK," he said. "It's all about who you rub the wrong way, and if you'll be quiet, we'll broker a deal, and then we'll break the deal. The whole thing is a political joke."

Ferguson was suspended with pay in November after some of his honors chemistry students took part in a milk-chugging experiment to test the body's ability to neutralize acids. Each student was given a gallon of milk and tried to drink it in an hour. Some students drank until they vomited, the body's reaction when it can no longer handle the acids in milk.

The case drew national media attention, and students packed a courtroom a week later when Ferguson petitioned to be let back on campus to teach. A judge denied his request.

Ferguson returned to the classroom in January, but retiring Superintendent Jim Causby had already recommended in December against renewing his contract.

Ferguson said that he will file an appeal asking the school board to reverse its decision.

"I still very much appreciate the support of all the parents, students and staff members, who I know spent a lot of time trying to explain the situation," Ferguson said.

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