Teacher suspended for lusty story

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Students at a New York high school are protesting the suspension of a beloved teacher who let them read a ribald tale in class, officials said.

Greg Van Voorhis, 30, was suspended after giving his 11th-grade students copies of a story about masturbation written by "Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk, The New York Post reported Monday.

"We found out about it kind of through the grapevine," said Evan Schwartz, principal of the Bronx School of Law and Finance. "It's a small school. It's hard to keep a secret."

Van Voorhis's pupils protested the suspension in a letter to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and created a Facebook page called "Save Mr. V." His students said they objected to school officials acting so prudishly.

"We're not little kids. We are in high school," said 15-year-old junior Omar Caminero. "It's not like we've never read anything like that -- we have."

Van Voorhis did not respond to messages for comment left by the Post.