Kid Gets Bullied For His DIY T-Shirt Design, The University Of Tennessee Turns It Into Their New Merch

Bullying is never a solution to anything. But some bullying stories do have a happy and wholesome ending. Fourth-grade teacher Laura Snyder posted the story of what happened online. She said that a student didn’t have any official UT apparel for the so-called ‘College Colors Day’ on which he wanted to represent the university’s sports team The Vols (The Volunteers).

According to Snyder, the kid drew his own University of Tennessee logo on a piece of paper and put it on an orange T-shirt. He was very proud of it, and we love it as well. But when the fourth-grader designed his own University of Tennessee T-shirt, his drawing was met not with praise, but with teasing from his classmates at the Altamonte Elementary School, Florida. However, the university reacted in an unexpected, and awesome way.

One fourth-grader made his own University of Tennessee T-shirt for College Colors Day

Image credits: Laura Snyder

His teacher said that kids started making fun of the boy

Image credits: Laura Snyder

The university sent the entire class lots of goodies

Image credits: Laura Snyder

“After lunch, he came back to my room, put his head on his desk and was crying,” Snyder wrote on Facebook. “Some girls at the lunch table next to his (who didn’t even participate in college colors day) had made fun of his sign that he had attached to his shirt. He was DEVASTATED.”

The university also turned the boy’s design into an official T-shirt

Image credits: UTKnoxville

Image credits: UTVolShop

Fortunately for everyone, the University of Tennessee seems to be full of awesome, kindhearted people. They reacted to the situation in the most incredible way.

Not only did UT send the kid and his classmates bags, hats, school supplies, towers, water bottles, and other cool things, the university turned the boy’s logo into an official school T-shirt.

Healthline writes that bullying has a thoroughly negative effect for everyone involved, including the bully, the victim and everyone connected to the teasing. The US Department of Health and Human Services states that bullying can lead to depression, anxiety, poor diet and sleep, health problems, and decreased academic achievement.

Bullying can be stopped by creating a community of support, engaging with the child, and educating others about the negative effects of bullying. What’s more, it’s important to empower bystanders: if you see someone getting bullied, help them out or tell an authority figure.

Dear Pandas, what do you think of the T-shirt design? What do you think of the university’s response? What can we do to stop bullying? Share your thoughts and feelings below!