SAN ANTONIO – The room went quiet as Maureen Molak placed her son’s picture on a podium. She and her husband, Matt, traveled to Austin to take a stand against cyberbullying and the kind of abuse that led their son to take his life.
Matt and Maureen Molak testified before a Texas House Committee, trying to convince lawmakers to support a bill named after their son, David. In an interview with KSAT’s Steve Spriester, the Molaks talked about that bill and also about the months that have passed since David’s death.
"The fog has cleared, but reality has kicked in, and the reality is pretty grim. We're going to go the rest of our lives without David," Maureen said.
The parents still wear wristbands that bear their son’s name, a name that has become synonymous with cyberbullying. For Matt and Maureen, David is much more than that.
"When we think of him, we don't automatically think about the abuse he went through the last couple of months of his life. We think about the other 16 years," Matt said.
"He would have been a junior in high school, and knowing all of the things that he could be doing, and how life could be different for so many people if he was here today, it's just a tragedy," says Maureen Molak.
David was brutally cyberbullied. It got so bad he switched schools, but the bullying followed him, until he took his life in January.
David’s Law would give schools more leeway when enforcing anti-cyberbullying policies, give students an anonymous way to report abuse and provide counseling.
"Some of the mob-type abuse that David went through — I think there would have been a smaller group. There would have probably been more people who either would not have participated like they did, or stood up for David," Matt said.
The Molaks have set up a website, davidslegacy.org, for the David’s Legacy Foundation. It includes updates on David’s Law, resources for parents and — perhaps the most powerful part — pictures of David.
"He's not a law. He's not a name on a sign. He's a real kid. He was just a typical teenager, but he had a great heart," Maureen said.
The Molaks are also getting support from the legal community on something called the DBM Project. It hasn't been unveiled yet, but the idea is to give bullying victims free legal advice and representation, to use civil laws already in place to fight bullies.