Argumentative Essay: The Nabozny Case

Nabozny v. Podlesny (1996) was a case heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit regarding the protection of a school student in Ashland, Wisconsin, who had been harassed and bullied by classmates because of his sexual orientation. The plaintiff in the case—Jamie Nabozny—sought damages from school officials for their failure to protect him from the bullying. A jury found that this failure violated Nabozny's constitutional rights and awarded him $962,000 in damages.[1][2]

Contents [hide]

1 Background

2 The case

3 Reception and significance

4 References

5 External links

Background[edit]

Jamie Nabozny (born October 1975) went to the local public middle school in the small Wisconsin town of Ashland, where his parents

At the meeting with the Nabozny family and a number of the boys who Jamie had accused of bullying, the Principal took the word of the bullies and then also later told Jamie Nabozny that if he continued to be out about his sexual orientation at school, the bullying would continue. The bullies faced no disciplinary actions and the harassment continued. Following a number of bullies verbally abusing him, inappropriately touching him and then enacting a mock rape[1][4][5] while the rest of his class watched, Nabozny went to the principal who told him that "boys will be boys"[6][7] and admonished him for entering her office without an appointment. The continued bullying at middle school led to Nabozny attempting suicide, after which he refused to return to middle school.

At high school, the same bullies returned and the harassment continued. At one point, Nabozny was attacked while at a urinal and urinated upon by another boy.[4][8] William Davis, the principal at the high school continued the inaction—the perpetrators were not disciplined and the only advice Davis gave to Nabozny was to go home to change his clothes. He attempted suicide for a second