SALISBURY -- A controversial classroom conversation between a North Rowan student and his teacher is going viral.

Hunter Rogers caught a heated debate with his teacher on a cell phone camera.

Now, Rowan-Salisbury Schools have suspended the teacher with pay while a thorough investigation is conducted.

In the video, the social studies teacher can be heard fighting back and the debate carried on for almost 10 minutes.

"She shouldn't have freaked like she did," said Alex Nicholas, a close friend of Rogers’.

Nicholas is also a student at North Rowan High School. He said this isn't the first time Rogers argued with the teacher.

"He had said that it happened before and he was tired of getting jumped on for asking questions," said Nicholas.

After referencing reports Mitt Romney bullied a classmate in high school, Rogers fired back.

"All I asked is didn't Obama bully a girl in high school? And you got all defensive," said Rogers in the video.

"No I didn't, no I didn't," said the teacher.

You can hear the argument heat up when the teacher accuses Rogers of slander.

"I'm saying to you, you're not supposed to slander. People were arrested for saying [inaudible] things about Bush," she said.

Since Rogers posted it on YouTube last Monday, it's gained almost 170,000 views and still has the school buzzing.

"They cannot take away you're right to have an opinion, or your freedom of speech. They can't take that away, unless you threaten the President," Rogers said in the recording.

A spokesperson for Rowan-Salisbury Schools is not confirming the name of the teacher in the video, but in a statement said, “Effective today Tanya Dixon-Neely has been suspended with pay while a thorough investigation is being conducted.”

Rogers was not in class Monday.

The full video can be seen here: