Archive: Around Town

Parents came to Lansing Middle School Monday to hear  a 'Parents University' series lecture by Jamie Nabozny.  Nabozny won a federal lawsuit against the Ashland, WI school district for failing to stop severe harassment he suffered in middle and high school for being gay.

Nabozny was on the receiving end of extreme predudice and harrassment culminating with a beating that landed him in the hospital.  When he was in eleventh grade he, his parents and his school counselor decided the best course would be for him to move awy to finish school in Minneapolis, where he now lives.  The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund helped him sue his school district.  In 1996 he accepted a $900,000 out-of-court settlement, the day after three school administrators were found liable for failing to shield him from repeated abuse.


It was a landmark case against bullying in schools.  It led to a documentary by the Southern Poverty Law Center about his life, and a career speaking to schools about the importance of eliminating bullying around the country.

Nabozny spoke to the Race, Class, and Gender Class and the Student Council, about 30 students, for two hours Monday, and to parents and the school board Monday evening.  Tuesday he presented in a high school assembly, then met with the entire district faculty and staff.  On Wednesday he addressed Lansing's 7th and 8th graders.

Monday's event began with a short Board Of Education meeting, after which the board stayed for the presentation.  Nabozney later posted on Facebook that it was the first time an entire school board had been to one of his presentations.

Parent's University is a series of lectures the Lansing School District offers periodically on topics that impact children in the community.

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