15 Nov 2011

Ohio teen attack at school talks.


Zach
It was a horrible video of a young teenager attacked at school just for being gay that shocked many.

The attacker waited for his victim, filmed by his cousin,  then his victim walked in and was viciously attacked and beaten up. 

I can still recall the video,  it shocked me not least because nobody intervened.  See the following of the horrific beating  at Unioto-Scioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio





Now Zachary Huston, who was the gay student that was cruelly targeted in that beating has found his voice, and is speaking out.   The American Civil Liberties Union is standing behind and supporting him,  threatening Union-Scioto with a lawsuit unless the school district meets with them about putting and end to bullying and harassment.

Watch Zach's interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

The Lancaster Eagle Gazette reports:
Beating_videoThe ACLU's letter alleges the school district was "derelict in its responsibility to provide a safe learning environment" for Zach. (James Hardiman, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio) said Monday "it's not enough to recognize or know a student was bullied. It must go further than that."

Hardiman said he does not take issue with the district's anti-bullying policy itself but rather the failure to enforce it. "It's not enough to have a policy on paper. The policy must have meaning -- it must have teeth," he said. "... Having a policy in place and not enforcing it is tantamount to not having a policy at all."

That sentiment was echoed by Zach, who said the school did "little to nothing at all," and his mother, Rebecca Collins, who said the bullying was ongoing despite her many complaints to administrators. Zach since has returned to Unioto, where Hardiman said, he has faced taunts from other students and some indifference on the part of certain educators.

Zach's attacker hasn't been back to the school and has pleaded guilty to an assault charge last week.  


Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/11/chillicothezach.html#ixzz1dnlxkZDf



No comments: