Monday, April 1, 2013

Anti-Bullying Advocate Jamie Nabozny Visits the University of Montevallo

by:  Jolyn Hannah

Last week Jamie Nabozny was in town to talk to the University of Montevallo community about his experience with bullying.

When Jamie was in middle school his classmates started bullying him because they though he was gay, which he was.  This bullying included both mental and physical abuse.  When Jamie entered high school he thought things would get better but instead they got worse.

At one point, Jamie was trapped in a restroom stall by several other students and urinated on.  While at another point he was beaten so badly that he had to get surgery to repair the damage.  There were many other incidences like these.

In order to escape his abuse Jamie ran away from home more than once.  Jamie also attempted to take his own life on more than one occasion.

The last time Jamie ran away from home, he met a social worker who encouraged him to take action.  Jamie filed suit against the school system that had allowed him abuse to continue for years and in a landmark decision, won his case.  Because of Jamie's case, all students are now entitle to a safe educational experience, no matter their gender or sexual

The documentary Bullied was produced by the Southern Poverty Law Center and documents Jamie's landmark court case.  It was screened for those who came out to here Jamie speak.

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