The ACLU Stands Up For Zachary Huston

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, who is representing Zachary Huston, that Unioto High School freshman who was attacked by classmate Levi Sever last month because he is openly gay, has threatened to sue the Union-Scioto school district unless officials meet with the ACLU to discuss ways to curb bullying. Which begs the question, why does it take the threat of a lawsuit to protect students, any students, from being bullied?

James Hardiman, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio hopes to resolve the situation by way of an informal meeting with Union-Scioto Superintendent Dwight Garrett and Unioto High School Principal Jim Osborne rather than through legal action: "We have reached out to the school to make certain they understand and appreciate what we're trying to accomplish. We will not hesitate, however, if a response is not forthcoming, to take appropriate legal action."

Dwight Garrett said he had received the letter, and forwarded it to the district's attorneys, but declined to give further comment.

Hardiman said Zachary Huston endured repeated incidents of verbal and physical bullying long before the videotaped attack with no action from school officials: "Zach was pushed. Expletives were directed toward him. His mother reported this to school officials. Nothing was done. After a period of time, it became an exercise in futility."

This is where i get angry. If a student is bullied and no one knows about it--because the aggressor and the victim says nothing--then nothing can happen. But when the victim, or the victim's parent reports it to the school, or when it is recorded on a cell phone and posted online, how can the school possibly justify doing nothing?

One of the saddest aspects in all this, is that Union-Scioto school district has an anti-bullying policy in place, but they have, obviously, failed to enforce it. And, according to Huston and the ACLU, are still failing to do anything.

Since Zachary Huston returned to school, he has faced taunts from other students and some indifference on the part of certain educators. Even Zachary acknowledges, "I feel a little scared, but I feel like if I don't go back, then I let them get to me."

Will it take another beating, another kid being shoved, for the school district to acknowledge the problem and actually do something?

Levi Sever, the 15-year-old boy who attacked Huston, has not been back to school since the incident, and, just last week, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. The judge in the case ordered the teen to wear an ankle monitor and check in with a probation officer twice a week. The case will be adjudicated sometime in the next month.

And I feel bad for that young boy, too. Had Zachary's complaints of being taunted been investigated, had his mother's concerns been addressed, then maybe a fifteen-year-old boy wouldn't be wearing an ankle monitor and facing a court trial.

If someone had just listened the very first time Zachary Huston said he was being bullied, none of this would have happened. Those two boys would be at school, living their lives as they hoped.

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