Student Gets Bullied For His Homemade University Of Tennessee T-Shirt, UT Makes It An Official Design

When a 4th grader needed to represent his favorite university for “College Colors Day,” he got creative and made his own University of Tennessee design, but a few bullies targeted him for it. So UT defended him by turning his shirt into a mass-produced design that became their most popular tee shirt.

In 2019, a teacher named Laura Snyder at Altamonte Elementary School in Altamonte Springs, Florida, first brought the situation to attention when she posted about it on her Facebook page. She explained that the student didn’t own any UT apparel. So he drew the school logo on a piece of paper and taped it to an orange shirt.

“When the day finally arrived, he was SO EXCITED to show me his shirt,” she wrote. “I was impressed that he took it one step further to make his own label.”

But an experience in the cafeteria crushed his spirits.

“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,” she continued.

Laura tried to make him feel better by offering to buy him a UT shirt. She also asked her followers if anyone had contacts at the university that could “make it a little extra special for him.”

Within 24 hours, Laura’s post went viral and dozens of people began messaging her with support. Higher-ups at the University of Tennessee also noticed the post about the bullied student, and they went “above and beyond” to help.

The university started by sending the student a UT merchandise swag bag.

“My student was so amazed at all the goodies in the box,” Laura wrote in an update. “He proudly put on the jersey and one of the many hats in the box. All who saw had either goosebumps or tears while we explained that he had inspired and touched the lives of so many people.”

Then, UT announced it was making the student’s design into an official shirt and donating a portion of every sale to an anti-bullying foundation.

“When I told him that his design was being made into a real shirt and people wanted to wear it, his jaw dropped. He had a big smile on his face, walked taller, and I could tell his confidence grew today!” Laura continued.

But they didn’t stop there. The University of Tennessee promised the bullied student a four-year scholarship, as well!

UT fans also showed up in full force to support the student. The university ended up selling 112,715 of the boy’s shirts, which raised $952,101 for STOMP Out Bullying. According to Knox News, the shirt was still the school’s most popular a year after it first hit stores.

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.