Jennifer D. Jordon is the Education News writer for The Providence Journal, Providence, Rhode Island.
Jennifer D. Jordon The Providence Journal
By Jennifer D. Jordon (Providence, Rhode Island) NOV 10 | During eighth grade, Rory Mann ate at lunch every day alone in the bathroom of her middle school.
That was the year Rory realized she was a lesbian, a fact she tried to hide from her classmates who sensed she was different and began harassing her.
A bathroom stall was her only refuge from tormenting that followed her to a local high school, a school that she declined to name.
"I just hid from everybody," Rory told an audience of about 300 educators and students at a Monday forum to raise awareness about the bullying endured by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. "I've been bullied my whole life ... in high school it just got worse when there were 1,500 kids, most of whom hated me without knowing me."
Rory went to school administrators with her plight, telling them she was depressed and thinking of harming herself. The school, she said, advised her parents to seek counseling for Rory, but did nothing about the students who bullied her. She started skipping classes and failed ninth grade.
The bullying stopped when she transferred to the East Bay campus of the MET School and repeated freshman year.
Now a high school senior who is applying to college, Rory said her life changed in her new school. She volunteers with Youth Pride, Inc., a support group for gay youth.
"The MET promotes a culture of loving everyone, accepting everyone and not judging," she said. "Bullying is just not accepted there. Staff, teachers, students, everyone is so respectful."
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