A 18 year-old male student committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his sexual encounter with another man was streamed online. Tyler Clementi, who was a freshman, was having sex with another man in his dormitory room on 19 September evening when his roommate Ravi, also 18, surreptitiously placed a webcam in the room and broadcast the video of Clementi's sexual encounter on the internet. Clementi committed suicide on 22 September, leaving his wallet and cell phone on the bridge. The New Jersey prosecutors are determining whether to prosecute Dharun Ravi and another Rutgers University student for bias intimidation, which is a criminal offence under New Jersey law. Any person who commits a crime with the purpose of intimidating someone because of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ethnicity, or if the victim or victim's property was selected as a target because of the same factors, is guilty of bias intimidation in New Jersey.
The suicide incident of Clementi should not have happened; it is tragic, unfortunate and outrageous. As a university student, Clementi has very good career prospects and his life should not have ended so abruptly due to somebody else’s mischief. It is outrageous because the mischief-makers are also university students and they do not have the sense of respect for the other person’s privacy, personality and dignity. The case may also illustrate that discrimination against sexual orientation is common and serious in American universities and even the society. The local authority and the Rutegers University should take concrete actions to make sure that the same tragedy will never happen again.
Source: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-30/justice/new.jersey.student.suicide_1_bias-charges-sexual-encounter-sexual-orientation?_s=PM:CRIME
3 comments:
I believe the people responsible for brodcasting Clementi's sexual encounter on the internet should definitely be prosecuted. They need to understand the seriousness fo their actions. It is disheartening to hear stories like this. Whether or not it was intended to cause harm to Clementi, it is still an act of discrimination, which is against the law.
I heard about this story when I was watching the news last week. I cannot believe people could be so cruel and try to ruin someone's life like this. I bet the students who posted the video online never thought that their actions would cause the boy to take his on life. The students need to prosecuted because it is awful what they have done. I feel so sorry for the boy and his family because I know that these kinds of hate crimes against gay/lesbians go on everyday around the world.
It's sad that people target others openly because of opposing views within our society. This is not the first time that something like this has happen. Last Spring semester and middle school girl also killed herself from being bullied so much and her family spoke on the Radio. I was bullied as a child and remember their feelings and If I'd known what I knew today and had more help maybe I wouldn't have had to be so scared. It's just a shame that we can make someone feel like they are aren't worth living.
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