Tyler Clementi, Freshman, Rutgers University
Authorities have found the body of Tyler Clementi floating in the Hudson River. Clementi is the 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman who jumped of the George Washington Bridge after his roommate allegedly posted to the internet a video of him being intimate with another man. In the fall semester of his first year in college, a time that is supposed to be full of possibility, this young man felt humiliated to the point that he gave up hope. I wonder at the mentality of those who would play such a prank, but my mind is incapable to wrapping itself around the possibility such cruelty could have been deliberate. I can only believe that the two students who posted the video did not think through the consequences.
Also shocking, it has emerged that Clementi had once reported a similar incident. He
reportedly notified his resident adviser and other university officials about an incident earlier this month in which his roommate, Dharun Ravi, allegedly live streamed video of Clementi having a sexual encounter with a male classmate.
According to the ABC News report on that, his complaint was not ignored, but I’m not sure it was handled properly. Had it been, perhaps the death could have been averted.
