Senior recounts cringe-worthy experience at airport

Most students know senior Supriya Khandekar as the green-eyed overwhelmingly nice girl with an ample number of speech and debate accomplishments who has almost no flaws. In fact, a Facebook page exists by the name of Goddess Supriya Khandekar and has more than 80 likes. Her passions include verifying that everything she touches is germ free, singing and helping others.

Although it may seem as if Khandekar was made of, as one student put it on her Facebook page, “ultimate perfection,” she once found herself the victim of a practical joke at an airport in which she was accused of carrying a “bomb” in her backpack.

In point of fact, Khandekar, then a sophomore, was merely carrying a bath bomb. Far from explosive, though certainly odorous, bath bombs liquify and add different scents and colors to the bath, softening the user’s skin.

Khandekar thought back to when she originally purchased her aromatic treasure, while in Modesto, Calif. with English teacher and former speech and debate coach Erick Rector and other members of the speech and debate team while participating in the 2013 state tournament.

“[Bath bombs] are really fun and I was pretty excited about [my purchase],” Khandekar said.

Because of the strict airport security rules regarding items in carry-on bags, Khandekar was originally unsure whether she would be allowed to take her purchase on the plane, as it was unclear whether the bath bomb was liquid or solid.

“I looked it up on my phone to make sure it could go through TSA, and it could and everything, so I finally became pretty [confident] about it,” Khandekar said.

Before traveling to the airport from Modesto, the speech and debate team made one last stop at a car rental service, where the practical joke started.

“Mr. Rector tells [the car salesman], ‘You know, she has a bomb with her,’” Khandekar said. “Then, the [salesman] joked about how they wouldn’t allow [me] on the plane.”

Despite knowing that Rector was joking around, Khandekar could not help feeling terrified that she indeed would not be permitted to sit on the plane.  

After renting a car, the team finally arrived at the shuttle, which would take them to the airport. It was getting closer and closer to the time when Khandekar would have to face airport security. Khandekar’s anxiety built up even more when Rector continued telling a nearby passenger that Khandekar had a bomb in her possession. The passenger responded jokingly, “That’s fine, as long as you’re not on my flight.”

The time had come. Khandekar swallowed a gulp of fear, ready to face TSA.

“I kept on holding my breath and looking back to making sure Rector wasn’t telling anyone else [about the bomb], and he wasn’t of course,” Khandekar said.

As the security machine scanned her belongings, Khandekar took deep breaths, “making sure that everything would go through OK.”

“It was pretty funny to joke around with [Khandekar] and see her freak out,” Rector said. “ [Alumni Sujay Khandekar, Supriya’s older brother] and I would keep switching off, [casually] saying, ‘Don’t worry it should be fine,’ and then adding ‘except if you tell [security that] you’re carrying a bomb, which you are.’”

Although Khandekar felt worried about the potential misunderstanding with security, she still had an underlying feeling that she would smoothly make it through the bag-checking. Eventually, the team did reach home without any delays.

“I was really scared at the time, but at the back of my mind, I knew that [Rector] wouldn’t joke around like that with the TSA,” Khandekar said. “Now, when I look back at that day, I get a good laugh out of it.”