Phillip Garber Jr. is 16 years old and attends two classes at the County College of Morris in New Jersey. This alone sets him apart from most young people his age, but he is different in another way — he has a stutter.
Garber hasn’t let this keep him from pursuing an education, but a history professor at the community college he attends believes it should prevent him from speaking up in class.
The professor asked Garber to write down any questions he had before and after class so as not to disrupt class time. Garber took immediate action and reached out to the faculty at County College of Morris.
“He was indeed discriminated against in this class,” said Edward Yaw, president of County College of Morris. “That’s something that we take seriously.”
According to Garber, he was made to feel “that stuttering is something to laugh at and it’s not something to take seriously,” as he told a CNN reporter this week.
Garber was moved to another history class at the college in which he feels more comfortable. He continues to attend speech therapy.