Someone give this kid an Oscar. A Pennsylvania high school student dressed up as a homeless man for a drama class assignment and was so convincing that he fooled school administrators — who then suspended him.
Michael Bodomov, a student at Mount Lebanon High School, was instructed to create a character he could play for an entire day last month, The Associated Press reported. The 17-year-old came up with ‘John,’ a homeless man. But Bodomov ran into trouble at school when administrators thought he was actually a vagrant and got the police involved.
“I wore like a couple layers of coats and some sweatpants,” Bodomov explained to the Associated Press.
The student said he smeared ink on his face to make it look dirty, wore fingerless gloves and mismatched shoes. He carried his backpack in a garbage bag. His backstory was that he was estranged from his family after running over his little sister. ‘John’ had also been convinced by a guru to give up most of his possessions.
Bodomov’s mother, Marina, dropped him off at school early. The boy tried a side entrance, after finding the main entrance still locked. An administrator confronted the student and, not recognizing Bodomov, asked what he was doing. The 17-year-old didn’t want to break character before the day even started, and mumbled an excuse about talking to some people.
“I had to kind of think on my feet,” Bodomov explained.
As he was questioned by school officials, the boy tried to drop hints that he was, in fact, a student.
“It’s not like this entire time I wasn’t trying to let them know I was a student,” Bodomov said. “It was pretty funny to me.”
But administrators didn’t pick up on it, and they called police. It was only then that Bodomov broke character and explained the situation. The police left and the student was informed that he was suspended for two days.
According to the school handbook, students are required to identify themselves to school administrators when asked.
“Students shall identify themselves properly and courteously when requested to do so by school personnel on school grounds or at any school sponsored activity,” the handbook reads.
Bodomov thinks the school overreacted. His mother, on the other hand, isn’t so sure. She said the school had to take into account the safety of the students.
“It’s a good school,” she added.
