Bullies dump deaf student's school supplies in toilet
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FOX NEWS - An act of cruelty at an Omaha public school stirred outrage and resulted in disciplinary action for the two students behind it. Senior Alex Hernandez returned to his cafeteria table to find his backpack missing. Its belongings, which included a tablet, English project and battery for his cochlear implant, were later found dumped in a school toilet.
"It's not OK to bully someone who is disabled, deaf or hard of hearing," Hernandez, who's been deaf since he was 1 year old, told KMTV. "Or anyone for that matter."
After the story broke, a GoFundMe page created by his classmates to replace the damaged items reached its goal of $800, and he received an outpouring of support, including from others with deafness.
"I wanted to thank all of my friends and those who wrote me for supporting me. I am very happy. It made me feel like I am not alone," he said.
But he said the incident was too much for him to handle and he wants to transfer to a school that he says will be more accepting of deaf students. Alex's mom said she hopes the incident will bring more awareness to bullying and encourage parents to communicate with their kids.
"Today was my kid - tomorrow will be somebody else's."