Roughly 200 people gathered in the Yellowjacket Union Great Room on Thursday night to hear the story of Jamie Nabozny, a Wisconsin native who was constantly harassed by his peers throughout middle and high school because of his sexual orientation.

Before hearing from Nabozny himself, the crowd watched 'Bullied', a powerfully moving documentary which chronicles Nabozny's experiences with being bullied and abused by fellow students throughout his teenage years at Ashland Middle and High Schools. Nabozny endured being hit, kicked, and spit on nearly every day; although he told his principals what was happening and they insisted they would take care of it, the treatment continued. In the 7th grade Nabozny attempted to commit suicide by taking pills, but told his mother what he had done. "I realized I didn't want to die," Nabozny recalled in the documentary.

Nabozny dealt with the bullying until one day in his freshman year of high school, when he ran away with a friend to Minneapolis. His parents convinced him to come back home, promising that he wouldn't have to return to the high school, but due to financial problems, he was soon back in the place he hated the most. It was not long after he returned that Nabozny suffered such a brutal beating that he needed surgery and was in the hospital for several days. Following this incident, Nabozny went back to Minneapolis and said he would not come back.

It was in Minneapolis that Nabozny met with a social worker who told him he should file a lawsuit against his principals. Although apprehensive, Nabozny and his family agreed that it was the right thing to do and went ahead with it. The court ruled entirely in his favor, which sent the message to schools across the country that bullying was not okay.

Following the documentary, Nabozny received a standing ovation as he took the stage to speak to the crowd.

"It's kind of a homecoming, and it means a lot to be here tonight," Nabozny said of coming back to the area; he lived in Superior while attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Nabozny spoke about the issues he felt were most important to be addressed in schools. Among these were that children need to be taught empathy and taught about the diverse world they live in, as well as his belief that there needs to be a comprehensive approach to dealing with bullying.

"Yes, the bully needs to be punished," Nabozny said. "But we also need to find out what's going on with that kid." This, he explained, can mean the difference between nipping the problem in the bud or another incident occurring later on.

Nabozny presented a number of points which he feels need to be taken care of before any progress can be made in the issue of bullying and harassment of students; not only because of their sexual orientation, but because of their religion, race, or anything else. He says that until everyone has equal rights, there will be no end to anti-gay, or any other type of bullying.

"All kids in a public school deserve to be safe," Nabozny proclaimed. "We need to have everyone stand up...for everyone's rights."

This event was sponsored by UW-Superior Queer and Allied Student Union (QASU), Gender Equity program and Women's and Gender Studies, as well as UMD QASU and UMD Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Services.