Confronting one’s childhood bully would be uncomfortable, terrifying even. However, what if that person grew up to be in charge of not just a class, or a campus, but a whole school district.  

On Monday, March 19, at a school board meeting in Houston, Texas, a man by the name of Greg Barrett, went up and confronted is former bully- the now superintendent of the district. Lance Hindt is in charge of the Katy Independent School District and was accused for bullying Barrett at their junior high school. Barrett used to be harassed over his legal last name, Gay, until he finally ended up changing it to the chagrin of his family.

During that time period, he was “unbelievably bullied” by peers and adults alike, something that still sadly happens today. Some boys in his grade shoved Barrett’s head into a urinal, busted his lip, and kicked him while he was covered in urine. When he went to the principal to report what the bullies did to him, Barrett claims that the principal only told him that those “kids will grow up someday, they won’t always be like this.”

Feeling as though he had no one, Barrett admits to almost committing suicide after the ordeal. After exposing the person to be Hindt, he steps off the podium, hoping his words were heard.However, to add insult to injury all Hindt did after Barrett finished was laugh. Later In response to that night, Hindt claims that he doesn’t recall Barrett and denies his accusations.

The whole event was disgusting. Even if he didn’t actually bully Barrett, his story was no laughing matter. If a superintendent believes that a kid being severely bullied and almost committing suicide, how is he leading his district? As a figure heavily involved with schools and students, bullying should be a problem that he wants to fix, not mock. Barrett took the high road in my opinion and admits that while he isn’t calling for Hindt to lose his job, he just doesn’t want any other kid to experience what he had to go through and cause awareness for bullying.