On Sept. 22, Rutgers student Tyler Clementi committed suicide three days after Dharun Ravi, his roommate, secretly streamed video of Clementi during an intimate encounter with his male partner. Unfortunately, this story of cyber bullying is nothing new; it is yet another saddening example of the tragic consequences of intolerance and disrespect.
There is no doubt Ravi deserves to be punished for what he has done. Invasion of privacy is a not a minor crime, and it should not be shaken off. A full investigation should be conducted to determine how malicious his actions were in order to determine how much of the possible five-year sentence for invasion of privacy Ravi deserves.
As of now, prosecutors are still deciding whether to add bias charges against Ravi. This would mean that prosecutors found, without a doubt, that Ravi committed the crime because Clementi was homosexual. Bias charges would also come with a possibility of a 10-year prison sentence.
However disgusting and perverted Ravi's actions were, they do not warrant 10 years in prison. What Ravi did was a horrible, perverted prank, but it does not seem that he wanted Clementi to commit suicide, only to be embarrassed. His actions are not excusable, but such a harsh punishment as 10 years in prison does not fit the crime.
To put sentencing into perspective, there has been another notable case of taping someone without consent. In 2009, Erin Andrews was taped in her hotel room. The man who filmed her was sentenced to 30 months in prison and was placed on a federal sex offender registry.
Both Clementi and Andrews were victims of voyeurism, and they deserve the same level of justice. If justice can truly be brought about by punishment, then each attacker deserves to receive the same level of sentencing.
I believe 30 months and life on a sex offender registry would be appropriate for Ravi. Since he taped Clementi while he was in an intimate situation with his partner, a sex offense is very appropriate. Furthermore, being placed on a sex offender registry will constantly remind Ravi and the rest of the country of his mistake.
More important than Ravi going to jail is to make sure that bullying and suicide become less prevalent in our culture. People are angry at what Ravi did and want justice to be served. But in a broader sense, people are angry at what every bully has done to their victims and saddened by the actions victims have taken.
Because of Clementi's sexuality, there has been an outpour of celebrity and media condemnation of homophobic bullying. We need support for homosexual victims of bullying, especially with statistics showing that 9 of 10 homosexual students report being bullied or abused.
While bullying is more prevalent against homosexual students, it is an issue that can affect anyone. Too many bullied children have taken their lives in the past years to stay complacent on the issue. Some of these students were Phoebe Prince, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg and Jesse Logan. For various reasons, these students—some homosexual, some heterosexual—were teased to their breaking point. Sadly, none of their suicides served as clear enough warnings about the dangerous consequences of bullying.
What should come out of this tragedy are better support systems in our schools, especially colleges. Every school should have teachers, administrators, counselors, friends and parents to help students feel safe in their environment and to get through tough parts of their lives. No one should have to dread going to school because they are being tortured by their peers. No one should have to worry about their privacy being so blatantly invaded as was Clementi's.
It seems that Clementi lacked this support network at Rutgers. Once he realized he was being spied upon, he went to a chat-room to find guidance in the situation. Clementi must not have felt comfortable enough to immediately go to his resident advisor to get help with the situation and talk about how he was feeling. If Clementi had a better support system available, maybe his suicide could have been prevented. Hopefully, Rutgers will follow through with their promise to work with student leaders to make the school more secure for everyone, and other schools continue their efforts to do the same.
No matter what, there are going to be jerks and idiots out there who find pleasure in hurting others. We can help by being willing to support those who need help with dealing with these jerks. The best we can do is be tolerant of others and be there for people when they need help getting through the rough parts in life.
Matt Beaty is a sophomore majoring in mathematics and computer science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
