An American teen who cut class to make a solo trip to Iraq returned Tuesday to his exclusive private school, where officials said they were unsure how to punish him.
Farris Hassan will not be expelled from Pine Crest School, but the 16-year-old junior could lose his honor roll status, face community service or have points deducted from his grade point average for skipping class, said Lourdes Cowgill, president of the prep academy of about 700 students in Fort Lauderdale.
Still, she appeared amazed by the boy’s odyssey.
“This is probably the most egregiously interesting escapade that students have had at Pine Crest,” Cowgill said. “I hope it doesn’t get any better than this.”
Hassan, who planned to meet with reporters later Tuesday, skipped school to begin his travels Dec. 11. He was able to secure an entry visa for Iraq because his parents were born there, although they have lived in the United States for more than 30 years. He didn’t tell his family what he was doing until he arrived in Kuwait, where he planned to take a taxi to Baghdad for the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.
With the Iraqi border closed for the voting, Hassan stayed with family friends in Lebanon until he could fly into Baghdad on Dec. 25.
He contacted The Associated Press bureau in Baghdad on Dec. 27 and related his story.
Hassan said he had recently studied immersion journalism — in which a writer lives the life of his subject — and wanted to understand better what Iraqis are living through.
“I thought I’d go the extra mile for that, or rather, a few thousand miles,” he told the AP last week.
He left Iraq on Friday and returned home Sunday. His parents have also promised punishment.