Posted on 09/07/2005 7:20:01 PM PDT by NorthEastRepublican
NEWARK, N.J. -- A lesbian student claimed that abuse from fellow teenagers at Holmdel High School was so severe she avoided bathrooms and wore gym gear under her clothes so she would not have to change in the locker room.
Nancy Wadington said she was forced to leave the school in her junior year because of persistent assaults, including one in which she was pushed down a stairway and hurt an ankle, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the Holmdel Board of Education.
"While I was at Holmdel High School, I felt every day I would be attacked by students, verbally and physically," Wadington, now 18, told reporters at a news conference in Newark announcing the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Wadington's backpack and books were stolen several times, and in one case they were found in a boys' bathroom covered in urine.
Her mother, Barbara Wadington, said at the news conference, "I contacted the school on many occasions, pleading with them to protect my child, but nothing worked."
The lawsuit, filed in Monmouth County's state Superior Court in Freehold, seeks unspecified monetary damages and charges that the district violated the state's Law Against Discrimination by failing to take effective steps to halt harassment.
The lawsuit also outlines procedures for the school board to adopt "to remedy its systemic failure to address and end anti-gay discrimination and student-on-student abuse."
Superintendent of Schools Maureen Flaherty, who came to the district in 2003, said she had not heard of the Wadington matter before the filing. "We'll obviously look at the lawsuit and do our internal investigation," she said.
The district has had a policy against harassment and bullying since June 1998 that includes sexual orientation as an area that is off-limits, Flaherty said.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Sorry if I messed up completely this is my first time posting an article.
The school should come down hard on anybody who severely (or consistently) harasses other students. A shame that they didn't hear this young woman's plea.
Public school vouchers would have gone a long way in helping this young woman find a more suitable learning environment.
Does this ring true or not?
LOL!
I hate to say it, but I do not believe the story. If true, then some kids should be prosecuted. But all the girl want is cash. Why doesn't she seek jail time?
Putting aside bullying, harassment, threats and actual student-on-student assaults, none of which should be tolerated, how do these policies identify and classify a minor's sexual orientation? Are these school systems privy to scientific discoveries not available to the rest of us?
Ah. A refeshing bit of gaywhine.
A lot of abuse goes on in schools that most adults have no clue about. John Stossel did a piece on it a few years ago. I also keep up with what's happening in France; the problem is there, too. Some kids are so harrassed by other kids that they end up committing, or attempting to commit, suicide. One 15 year old girl left her parents a suicide note apologizing for disappointing them when she killed herself. They had already gone to the school for assistance when she had previously attempted suicide because of the abuse at school. Nothing was done. Her life continued to be a living hell, and at her age, she could not see that once school is over, life DOES get better.
School for me was torment; I would not wish what I suffered on any child. The problem has always been there; only in the last few years has ANY notice been made of it.
This girl with her lawsuit did make one horrible mistake: she should not have let on that she was gay. Kids pick on those who are different, in whatever way.
I wonder what her t-shirts said? She probably was trying to cram her lack of sexuality down everyone elses throat...so to speak.
Tell you the truth, this doesn't sound any different than what some unfortunate kids go through. Usually they're 'nerds' or 'dorks.' This girl just has the chance to claim 'lesbian' and seek to recover financially from it. High school isn't known as hell for nothing-- how many misfits got the same treatment in the last fifty years and survived? Not everybody is the prom king or queen (or, in her case, either one).
Well, get to the truth. If the school failed, they should pay, and also be on the ball in the future.
You know, the school should be accountable for not responding, if true. But the thugs who committed crimes against the girl should also pay. A person usually seeks direct effect on the actual perps. That makes it ring untrue to me. Plus, it is all the rage to have "gay teens" sue for one thing or another. I went to high school. Kids are immature and say things they shouldn't to practically everyone. Welcome to childhood. But assaults and the like are another matter. If a school is full of criminals then the criminals should be removed and forced to pay. If she wants cash, get it from them first.
True. But being misfit is an odd thing varying by time and place.
More than one very popular and exceedingly happy student became a miserably unhappy misfit when the family moved from one place to another. Was and probably still is a problem for military dependents, for example.
I agree everyone should be sued. But in court, her file will become evidence and her teachers and counselors will give depositions. It will be clear if she did sincerely seek help from the school from the evidence.
As for suing the kids, there are some people who the law calls 'judgment proof.' That is, even if you did win an award from them, they don't have anything so you can't collect. I suspect that's why the lawyers didn't sue the kids.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Obviously, no one should be tormented or harassed in this manner, even if she is suffering from mental illness. That said, I'd like to hear more about this, since there have been so many fake "harassment" claims, often perpetrated by the so-called victims to gain sympathy. Not saying these claims are fake, just want to know more...
NorthEastRepublican - you say this is your school. Can you update the thread if you learn more about this? And ping me?
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
Right. If there is any financial burden, the thugs should be held accountable, not the schools. God knows we don't need anymore of our taxpayer money being diverted from learning to someone's pocket.
But the staff of the school who let this slide should be punished by being fired.
I don't undersatnd these people. I personally like most lesbians!
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