When the “joke” stops being funny and becomes a crime
Imagine the scene: any given Friday at the Conalep in San Luis Río Colorado. An electronics student, innocent and ignorant of his destiny, eats his cake peacefully. What he thought would be a normal day turned into a nightmare straight out of a teen horror movie, but without the Netflix budget. Two of his “colleagues”, in a burst of creativity worthy of a better cause, decided that offering isopropyl alcohol disguised as water was the new viral challenge. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
Our protagonist, confident as someone who believes that the last episode of his favorite series is going to have a satisfactory ending, had two good drinks. For the third, his body did what any organism with a survival instinct would do: it activated “this is not water” mode and spat it out. But the damage was already done. The sensation, according to reports, was as if a torch had been placed in his throat, esophagus and stomach. Come on, the detox plan that no one asked for.
From school to the emergency room in record time
The call to the mother was not the typical “ma’am, your son didn’t do his homework.” It was one of those calls that freezes your blood and makes you drop whatever you’re holding. Upon arriving at the campus, the scene was worthy of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy: ambulance and patrol, because apparently a medical tragedy is not complete without the police touch. They explained to him that his son had ingested a “substance.” A euphemism as big as saying that the Titanic had a little problem with an ice cube.
At the hospital, the doctors released the information that no one wants to hear: 70% poisoning and severe damage to internal organs. Seventy. By. Hundred. That figure is staggering. It’s not “he’s going to feel bad for a while”; It’s a “your body is literally at war with a poison.” The joke, in case anyone had doubts, had crossed the criminal line faster than a meme goes viral.
Faced with this nonsense, Conalep did not mess around. The following Wednesday, director Elsa Oralia Cruz issued a statement more formal than a suit for a wedding, announcing the immediate expulsion of the two geniuses of black humor. The institution, in an attempt to control the story, assured that it acted quickly by applying the corresponding protocol and that this saved the young man’s life. They also promised that they have reinforced surveillance, as if putting more eyes were the solution to someone giving poison to a colleague to drink.
But here comes the plot twist: the family of the affected student did not sit idly by. With the support of the Domestic Violence Attention Group, they filed a formal complaint with the Public Ministry. Now the ministerial authorities have an open investigation folder to determine the exact nature of the substance and, the juiciest thing, the possible criminal responsibilities of our frustrated comedians. Because what started as a “joke” between colleagues could end with someone facing the law, a much less funny ending.
The institution, in its statement, “strongly rejected any manifestation of harassment, harassment or bullying.” A statement as obvious as saying that water is wet, but necessary in a world where sometimes it seems that you have to remember the basics. They also urged parents to “contribute from home,” which is a fancy way of saying, “please educate your children not to poison anyone.”
This incident goes beyond the typical case of bullying. It’s a chilling reminder of how peer pressure, approval-seeking, or simple teenage stupidity can have irreversible consequences. Isopropyl alcohol, for those who don’t know, is that substance that you use to clean electronic components or disinfect, not to hydrate. You don’t need a master’s degree in chemistry to know that ingesting it is a bad idea.
The expulsion was the least that could happen. But the real drama is just beginning, with a criminal investigation underway that could redefine the future of these two students beyond any academic suspension. Meanwhile, the affected student recovers from massive poisoning that, we hope, does not leave long-term consequences. And all for a joke that, clearly, was not funny at all.
Do you think you know perfectly the limits between mischief and crime? Share this story to raise awareness and help prevent a similar “prank” from ruining more lives. Explore more content related to safety in educational environments on our social networks.
