BARRINGTON — Six high school students have been suspended after being found with alcohol in their hotel room while attending a national leadership conference in Baltimore.

Some 55 students were attending the four-day Fall National Leadership Conference, which began Nov. 5, when a chaperone checked one of the rooms and discovered six students to be in possession of alcohol.

According to high school principal Joseph Hurley, on Nov. 7, the last night of the conference, one of the students who allegedly had been drinking called home and reached a relative. The family member, who was concerned about how the student sounded, contacted one of the chaperones. When the chaperone entered the room, the adult discovered that the students had been drinking.

Since the conference ended the next day, the chaperones decided to wait and leave after it was over.

On the following Monday, the high school’s two assistant principals, Nicole Varone and Michael Messore, spent the day interviewing the students and their parents and a five-day suspension was imposed shortly thereafter.

Hurley said his office will be considering whether to assess further sanctions against the teenagers. According to the school activities handbook, students who violate the school’s drug- and alcohol-use policy can be suspended for seven days from participation in other school-sponsored clubs and activities.

“We will continue to stress the importance of decision-making,” Hurley said. “In this case, all of the students involved will meet with our student assistance counselor to talk about those decisions.”

“This is confirmation that we have to be vigilant and continue these efforts, ” he said. The Life of an Athlete program brings in a speaker to talk with high school athletes about the importance of being healthy and avoiding drugs and alcohol.

lborg@projo.com