ArchivedBullied gay students awarded $1.1 millionACLU
An un-biased view?
ACLU = American's Cash for Lawyers United
In 1998, Alana Flores, Freddie Fuentes, Jeanette Dousharm, and three other students sued the Morgan Hill Unified School District in Morgan Hill, California, charging that school district employees repeatedly ignored or minimized many reports by the students that they were being abused by others who thought they were fat. The plaintiffs were students at three schools in the Morgan Hill district – Live Oak High School, Britton Middle School, and Murphy Middle School – between 1991 and 1998. In their lawsuit, the students sought to obtain improved training for district personnel and students, and damages.
damages = HARD CORE CASH $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!
In court documents and testimony, the plaintiffs paint a picture of a terrifying atmosphere for fat students in the Morgan Hill schools. Among the incidents the plaintiffs described:
Freddie was in 7th grade when a group of students surrounded him at a school bus stop one morning and brutally beat and kicked him, calling him “lard a$$ .” The bus driver ignored the scene when he drove up, let the attackers board the bus, and left Freddie lying on the ground at the bus stop as he drove away. He had to be treated at a hospital. The school only disciplined one of the attackers. Freddie transferred to another school, after school officials said that they couldn’t ensure his safety if he stayed.
Throughout her years in high school, students placed pages torn from pornographic magazines in Alana’s locker and scratched Satanic obscenities into the paint on her locker door. Although she reported it, the school left the words on her locker for months before painting over them. In January of 1997, Alana found a picture of a naked woman, bound and gagged, with her legs spread and her throat slashed taped to her locker. On the picture, someone had written, “Die, die… dyke bitch, fuck off. We’ll kill you.” Alana, frightened and crying, took the photo to the assistant principal’s office. The assistant principal brushed her off and told her to go back to class, saying, “Don’t bring me this trash anymore, this is disgusting.” The assistant principal then asked Alana if she was a Christian and said, “If you’re not Christian, why are you crying?”
In a history class, Freddie was being called “bible thumper” and “Jesus Freak” by other students, again in front of a Morgan Hill teacher. When Freddie told them to stop, the teacher took Freddie out into the hallway, told him he’d disrupted class, and shoved him against a wall.
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