Cleburne, Texas: Students learn they can stop bullying

By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com
Cleburne Times-Review
Hunter Layland was different.

His differences, some believe, were not embraced by the entire student body at Cleburne High School.

“He had been in an accident when he was little and had a scar on his face,” said senior John Longoria. “He got a lot of trouble for that from grade school to high school. I was not personally aware of that. I didn’t know Hunter that well.”

When Layland took his own life recently, reportedly in part because of insensitive comments from fellow students, CHS students rallied around his legacy.

Many wondered why peers didn’t leap to his defense. Longoria provided an answer.

“It’s because other kids know how it feels [to be bullied], and they don’t want to get involved,” Longoria said. “They don’t want to have it come back on them.”

A schoolwide presentation Thursday titled “Who I Am Makes A Difference” drove home Longoria’s point. Full story.

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