Water Cooler

L.I. Student Suspended For Giving Teacher A Noogie

Honors Student Lashes Out Against 10-Month Suspension For 'Simple Pat On The Head'

LYNBROOK, N.Y. (CBS) ― If you think back to high school, memories of "noogies" and spitballs probably aren't far behind. On Friday, one Long Island honors student and his father are speaking out after the freshman was suspended for 10 months – all because he allegedly gave his Spanish teacher a noogie.

Ethan Mirenberg, 14, remembers his Spanish teacher, Sharon Cantante, as being a "great teacher," even though he received the nearly year-long suspension for supposedly giving her a noogie.

"I'm dismayed," he told CBS 2. "You can't let people throw you under the bus."

The Lynbrook School District alleges Mirenberg, a football and lacrosse player, forcibly grabbed Cantante by the neck and continued to press his knuckles against her scalp despite her pleas to stop.

And they say it happened more than once, but Mirenberg said it didn't happen that way. Instead, he described it as a "pat on the head."

The Mirenbergs presented pictures of other students giving Cantante noogies, and she's even smiling in them. Bill Mirenberg, Ethan's father, said his son's friends back up the story.

"This teacher, Ms. Cantante, is well respected in our school. Ethan enjoyed her class, did well. I myself had a good relationship with her as the parent of a student," he said.

Bill added that his son's friends told him he didn't do what he's accused of.

The Mirenbergs' lawyer said the eighth grade Spanish teacher didn't mind getting noogies every once in a while and he wants his client's name cleared.

"I want Ethan's record expunged," the boy's father said.

As for Ethan, he just hopes to return to Lynbrook High.

"I've learned a lot. The school year is done and I hope to return next year clean," he said.

The school district said that Ethan received a fair hearing in the case. The superintendent reviewed the facts and had actually reduced the original suspension of 24 months to 10 months.

When asked if Ethan's actions represented a simple hug and a pat on the head, the superintendent said "clearly not," and went on to say "when a teacher tells you to stop, you stop."

Ethan has moved to East Rockaway since the suspension, but if he moves back to Lynbrook he will be allowed to return to Lynbrook High on Sept. 1.

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