Father suing school district after son commits suicide

by Sarah Boone
Journalism Intern

After his son committed suicide for being bullied, father of thirteen-year-old Tristan Seehus is suing the Duluth school district.

On February 12, 2015, middle-schooler Tristan killed himself. His father, Todd Seehus, claims that Tristan’s peers frequently would shove his child into lockers and would call him a “freak” because they thought he was gay.

Tristan did not claim to be gay; however, according to the lawsuit, he did not “conform to traditional stereotypes of masculinity.”

He was also called other names and his classmates would tease him and say that he looked “like a girl.” His peers would also knock books out of hands.

The lawsuit that Todd has filed against Lincoln Park Middle School because, he claims, the school failed to protect his son from bullying.

“Tristan’s suicide was a foreseeable result of Defendants’ failure to provide him a safe educational environment,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also claims that the Duluth school district “ignored and diminished the abuse and did not adequately carry out policies that ban harassment related to sexual orientation.”

In a statement, Duluth school district officials explains, “While we can’t comment specifically on the litigation, it’s important to know that our schools endeavor to create an environment where all students are treated with respect and to validate the rights of all students to a safe and welcoming environment.”

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. If bullying does not stop, then more people will keep taking their lives. 

“This should never happen, let alone to kids who are forced to interact with their tormentors in school every day,” Lori Peterson, attorney for Seehus, says.

“We hope we’ll be able to make a difference for other kids through bringing this action.”

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The Gayly - 7/21/2016 @ 11:45 a.m. CDT