CNN reported on Sept 30:
A Rutgers University student who apparently committed suicide was the unknowing target of an internet broadcast showing him in a sexual encounter, New Jersey authorities said Wednesday.
Two other Rutgers students have been charged with invasion of privacy after they allegedly placed a camera in 18-year-old Tyler Clementi's dorm room without his knowledge and then broadcast Clementi's sexual enounter, according to the Middlesex County prosecutor's office.
"If the charges are true, these actions gravely violate the university's standards of decency and humanity," Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick said in a statement Wednesday.
Although Clementi's body has not been found, an attorney for the Ridgewood, New Jersey, family said Wednesday, "On behalf of the family of Tyler Clementi, I can confirm that Tyler committed suicide last week by jumping from the George Washington Bridge."
Read full article on CNN here.
...
According to media reports, two students identified by the New York Times as Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, both 18, have each been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly secretly placing a camera in Clementi's dormitory room and transmitting the sexual encounter with another male on the Internet.
Ravi has also been charged with two additional counts of invasion of privacy for trying to use the secret camera to view and transmit another encounter. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of five years. He had also allegedly posted messages on Twitter reading "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
The report quoted the authorities as saying that Ravi streamed his roommate’s intimate encounter live on the Internet on the same night after he had tweeted the message.
Clementi, a college freshman and an accomplished violinist, jumped from the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River in an apparent suicide three days later after posting a goodbye message on his Facebook page on Sept 22 saying: "Jumping off the gw [George Washington] bridge sorry."
Bullying in schools and cyber-bullying
This month alone the US media reported three youth suicides on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Seth Walsh, 13-year-old California middle school student, died in hospital, days after he attempted to take his own life after reportedly enduring relentless bullying for being gay. He had apparently tried to hang himself from a tree in his backyard.
On Sept 9, 15-year-old Billy Lucas of Greensburg, Indiana hanged himself at his grandmother’s home. Friends of Lucas said that he had been tormented for years based on his perceived sexual orientation.
On Sept 23, 13-year old Asher Brown, a gay teen in Houston, Texas came home from school while his parents were at work. He shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment and bullying.
School bullies broke the arm of 11-year-old Tyler Wilson because he joined the cheering team.
The issue of harassment and bullying in schools and cyber-bullying gay youths face have been taken up by the media and NGOs and concerned members in the LGBT community including openly gay syndicated sex/relationships columnist and author Dan Savage. Savage of Savage Love fame appears in a video with his husband Terry in the "It gets better" You Tube video project launched this month. He’s soliciting videos from fans who want to provide support and encouragement to gay teens who face adversity, discrimination and bullying in high school.
CNN's Anderson Cooper also called out Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general in Michigan, on his obsessive campaign against openly gay University of Michigan student assembly president Chris Armstrong. Shirvell has accused Armstrong of "advancing a radical homosexual agenda", and has posted pictures of Armstrong with rainbow flags and swastikas on his blog Chris Armstrong Watch, in addition to calling him "Satan's representative" and picketing outside Armstrong's house.
Troubled? Need to talk?
HORIZONS - Lesbian and Gay Hotline, Hong Kong
Web: www.horizons.org.hk
Hotline: (852) 2815 9268
Tue & Thu 7.30pm -10.30pm
Elements - Quality gay life, Hong Kong
Web: www.elements.org.hk (in Cantonese only)
Boys and Girls Clubs Association, Hong Kong
A mainstream NGO established to campaign against the harassment of LGBT students in Hong Kong schools.
Web: www.bgca.org.hk (in Cantonese only)
Read more in a Fridae article.
The Samaritans
Suicide-prevention hotline: (852) 2896 0000 (24-hour)
Web: www.samaritans.org.hk
Email befriending: jo@samaritans.org.hk (English and Cantonese)
PT Foundation MSM programme, Malaysia
Web: www.ptfmalaysia.org
HIV/AIDS and sexuality counseling hotline
Hotline: (03) 4044 5455 or (03) 4044 5466
Mon - Fri, 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Oogachaga Counselling and Support Hotline, Singapore
Web: www.oogachaga.com
Hotline: (65) 626 86 626
Tue - Thu, 7pm - 10pm; and Sat, 2pm - 6pm
Samaritans of Singapore (SOS)
Suicide-prevention hotline: 1800-221-4444 (24-hour)
Web: www.SOS.org.sg
Email befriending: pat@samaritans.org.sg
For other countries, visit www.befrienders.org or to find out about LGBT-affirmative support groups in your country, please contact editor@fridae.com.
Printable Version
RSS Feed: 
Reader's Comments
p.s. Andrew Shirvell is a total lameass.
Shirvell is an obvious....UM...AH....UM.....UM......................FOOL............. ...i'm tempted to say 'closet fool', but i won't be insulting my brothers & sistas.....
Beautiful and professional work by AC.
Peace all xoxo
i hope he didn't kill himself.
but his roommate is a jerk. not sure about molly tho..
rest in peace...
Tyler Clementi's story is absolutely heartbreakingly tragic!
As for that moron Shirvell, he is probably a closet queen and into kiddie porn. The biggest hypocrites always make the most noise. I hope they catch him hanging around an elementary school with binoculars and a box of Kleenex.
Bullying is epidemic, please watch for it and stand up to it, bullies are murdering our youth! See also 15yo billy lucas
http://www.queerty.com/billy-lucas-15-hangs-himself-after-classmates-called-him-a-fag-one-too-many-times-20100914/
13yo seth walsh
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?entry_id=73326
and 18yo tyler clementi
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/hold_new_rutgers_post.html
all murdered by intollerant anti gay bulling. This needs to stop....we all need to stand up and fight against anti gay shit in ALL its forms
May they all rest in peace
this, like so much news in today's world, reminds me that while we are are all born with the same Human Potential, so very few actually grasp that is only potential until we each decide to aspire and work towards it's realization.
two steps forward, one back...and maybe two or three... :-(
As a young teenager I endured frequent bullying for what was my perceived gay and/or effeminate nature. Only by "butching it up" and hiding it and acting more masculine and becoming more athletic as I entered my later teens was I able to hide my true gay nature and stop the bullying. However, on the inside I was very suicidal over being gay and the open hatred of it. It took me until my late 20's to finally come to terms in a positive manner and to comfortably come out.
As a way of passing on support, I volunteered for a number of years at a suicide hotline and encountered many gay youth and adult men feeling depressed and contemplating suicide. I'd like to volunteer for a gay organization particularly related to helping gay youth have a better go of it than what I and other older gay generation men encountered. Although a tragic outcome, this article brings much needed awareness and reinforces the need for support and my desire to help our gay youth. For that, I thank Fridae for posting.
As for Andrew Shirvell, he appears to me to be a closet case self hating internalized homophobe in great need of mental health care at a number of levels. He is a bully and a mental case in the works. He appears to have many of his own deamons. He is tormented and a tormentor! He is a very evil man and a professional bully who has no place in public service. Shame on his boss and others in power for not firing him.
Mr. Armstong needs to look out for his own safety and also file what ever charges he can against this lunatic Shirvell. There is a website out and youtube to support Armstong. Go see it and contribute your support, please!
i suspect jealousy here...
could it be that he had a bad college years experience (as a gay)?
so bad that he would do such immature acts?
Guess their sex lives were so dull they needed to invade the privacy of someone else s.
I remember when I was in my junior high school, once I was locked up in the toilet with 3 other trouble kids and they attacked me for being too quiet and some other tough situations happened occasionly though out the years. Funny thing was that I told my school teacher about it and all I got from it was a stigma who is being imformer well the school teacher joked at me in front of my class mates...
It was tough day in and day out but I am here and live happy life... problem is after all these years school bullying is still there. I wonder what can we do to stop this.
I am very sad that such tragic has happended. But i know, Clementi is in peace.
Did he commit suicide because of the web-cam incident or that he could not deal with his sexual preferences? If the latter then where was all the on campus help for students that are discovering their sexuality and don't know where or who to turn to?
Especially in a high profile college such as Rutgers U is.
How absolutely malicious and malevolent.
They did this out of malice and ill intentions.
I hope they get the maximum sentence, which will serve as a deterrent from repeating such callous behavior from henceforth.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Clementi.
These two students will have to live with this for the rest of their lives which may not be long enough!
What do you think they will tell their children about this incident (assuming they are ever allowed to breed)?
Rutgers is a good university and deserves better than to be host to two students like this who have such a sick and twisted idea of a good time at someone else's expense (and life)!
Please everyone consider posting to Dan Savage's it gets better project. :)
So you're glad he's dead, aren't you? Because surely, your self-righteous indignation grants you the moral right to be?
And what about you, exactly? Who do you think you are to judge who deserves to be dead and who does not?
This poor guy must have been going through a living nightmare to resort to such a desperate act; and although most of us here would agree he didn't do the right thing, any decent human being would feel sorry and sad for his tormented soul.
I suggest you get off your condescending high horse and keep your incensing opinion to yourself next time you feel like defecating all over Fridae.
--------------------------------------
May your soul rest in peace always, Tyler Clementi.
Sad but true.
Secondly thank you to the many thousands who over the years have fought, campaigned, lobbied and lived lives testament to equal rights. Thanks Fridae for your roll as advocates as well.
I too wept. I am reminded again of Matthew Shepherd and indeed the compassion of his parents in commuting the death penalty as we must not fight hatred with hatred, it must be compassionate love and that's tough.
Peace and hugs to you all and the many compassionate respondents to this and the many articles.
Ben
I feel for this young man, his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Spreading hatred and anger isn't the answer.
So I do not wish that those two students rot in hell. Wishing that is like supporting death penalty. I only wish to see them speak out publicly and share what they have learned from this tragic story. That would be more positive. Everybody should have the right to understand and improve his life.
glad i'm out and enjoy what i do....
If this is not a giant alarm sign for the U.S, well I don't know what will urge them to do something.
I thought the Sates was very liberal...
healthy debate is good, but cyber bullying is awful and tragic
the situation at University of Michigan is crazy too since I am a Michigan grad and really happy the Student Council president is a very capable guy that happens to be a little gay
Don't feel ashamed to be seen making love to your same-sex lover by the world.
Every het lover does just that.
Don't be fooled or bullied by jealous and evil hets.
You've got a world of glbt and some het supporters.
I hope there will be more peace in this world.
I hope there will be more peace in this world.
I hope there will be more peace in this world.
Be him gay or straight, I admire this kid!
Be him gay or straight, I admire this kid!
Be him gay or straight, I admire this kid!
I don't think it is gay bashing and i think many gays are over-reacting to this. These 2 people were playing a prank and did not understand the consequences. What bothers me even more are the friends of these 2 people. What has the world come to when people don't know what is right and wrong? What is ethical and not? We all should speak up when our friends are doing something wrong and unethical.
I think everyone that watched the video and did not speak up are as guilty as these 2. I believe it was a crime. I don't believe it was a hate crime.
many many are to blame for this death or rather murder.
the two students who plotted this assault, are as of now, liable for 5 years in prison, at least.
if you are an American, as i am, write to your member of congress and Senator and President Obama demanding full prosecution for this hate crime.
Most of all, I really blame the University, that could have an atmosphere where this murder could take place. The assault took place in a university dormitory, where is the supervision by the university?
If I were the parents of the student who was "killed", I would sue the university for USD 100 M. for negligence, criminal negligence.
Harvey Milk said, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” And this is really why more confident gay teens should take the step to come out in school if it is safe for them to. Really helps reduce gay bullying, for example, if one cool kid is openly gay. High school is, afterall, simplistically just a social ladder people fight to ascend.
http://www.queerty.com/billy-lucas-15-hangs-himself-after-classmates-called-him-a-fag-one-too-many-times-20100914/
13yo seth walsh
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?entry_id=73326
Remember them, and all the uncounted unpublicised ones as well, for there are MANY of them
USA is *NOT* the liberal place some think. That is only a few spots. Most of USA is homophobic/jeasus freak/conservative/neonazi hell...I know, I live there. We all need to start stand up, be heard, and fight the hate, in USA and abroad
We should not let our own hatred get in the picture. Fighting 'wrongs' and hatred with hatred doesn't make us any better because we are deploying the same negative violence.
And honestly, even among gays, don't you think that many people are as harsh with each other as well? I go out a lot in the community and I'm always surprised by how prejudice gays are with each others.
So this tragedy is not only about being gay or homophobic, it's about ignorance, lack of compassion and not seeing the extent of one's action. Because if we start blaming these two students, then we should maybe also blame the parents of that boy who obviously didn't raise him with enough open mindedness, since he felt ashamed of himself, and that is endless!!!
And as we know...with the law in the US, lowlifes like those can still plead for their "rights" and get away with a mere slap on the wrist....and as an Asian, I feel so ashamed...they're a freakin disgrace to us Asians!!!
R.I.P Tyler...your spirit lives on in our hearts. Always. :'|
Please log in to use this feature.