High School Punishes Teen For Sharing Ghost Pepper With Classmates
(Only Fabrizio/Shutterstock)
When they're not suspending students for dumb NFL memes, Long Island high schools are suspending teens for what's in their lunch boxes. A student at Centereach High School was disciplined when several students in his class were sickened by trying a piece of the teen's ghost pepper that he'd brought to school. According to CBS New York, students were forced to leave gym class after symptoms of the pepper manifested as stomach and mouth pain. The school should be grateful they're just eating them.
"My friends saw that I had the new ghost pepper with me, and they all wanted to see how spicy it really was, because everybody thought that basically they could handle it and it was nothing," explained Nick Lien, the student. "So they all tried a piece."
After students ended up at the nurse's office, Lien's mother was summoned to the school. "I ran to the school to wonder why. I didn't know what it was," recalled Sharon Lein. "I asked if it was pepper spray, peppers on sandwiches, and she said it was my son brought a pepper to school—which I happen to have. We eat hot peppers, so it's, like, no big deal."
Lien was given a choice between a two-day, after-school detention or a one-day, in-school suspension. "I was told that it's equivalent to giving someone LSD," Lien revealed. But the family is fighting the school's actions, saying that not only aren't there state regulations regarding ghost peppers in school, but that the disciplinary action will harm Lien's grades. "Students' rights cannot be violated by dictating to them what they can and can't bring in for lunch, so it's an outrage," according to the family's attorney.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
Nell Casey in Food on May 27, 2015 1:18 pm
(Only Fabrizio/Shutterstock)
When they're not suspending students for dumb NFL memes, Long Island high schools are suspending teens for what's in their lunch boxes. A student at Centereach High School was disciplined when several students in his class were sickened by trying a piece of the teen's ghost pepper that he'd brought to school. According to CBS New York, students were forced to leave gym class after symptoms of the pepper manifested as stomach and mouth pain. The school should be grateful they're just eating them.
"My friends saw that I had the new ghost pepper with me, and they all wanted to see how spicy it really was, because everybody thought that basically they could handle it and it was nothing," explained Nick Lien, the student. "So they all tried a piece."
After students ended up at the nurse's office, Lien's mother was summoned to the school. "I ran to the school to wonder why. I didn't know what it was," recalled Sharon Lein. "I asked if it was pepper spray, peppers on sandwiches, and she said it was my son brought a pepper to school—which I happen to have. We eat hot peppers, so it's, like, no big deal."
Lien was given a choice between a two-day, after-school detention or a one-day, in-school suspension. "I was told that it's equivalent to giving someone LSD," Lien revealed. But the family is fighting the school's actions, saying that not only aren't there state regulations regarding ghost peppers in school, but that the disciplinary action will harm Lien's grades. "Students' rights cannot be violated by dictating to them what they can and can't bring in for lunch, so it's an outrage," according to the family's attorney.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
Nell Casey in Food on May 27, 2015 1:18 pm
