The story of Ravi and his roommate Tyler Clementi provide opportunity for reflection, prove need for proactive approach to campus and community safety and inclusion

Campus Pride, the nation’s leading educational organization working to make colleges and universities safer and more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, believes that the story of former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi and his now-deceased gay roommate Tyler Clementi serves as a prime example pushing the public toward greater awareness and acceptance of LGBT people.

In March, Ravi, accused of using his webcam to spy on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi during a sexual encounter with an unnamed male partner, was found guilty of several counts of invasion of privacy and guilty of several counts of bias intimidation toward Tyler Clementi, among other charges. The case attracted national attention after Clementi died by suicide in September 2010.

On Monday, a judge said Ravi's crimes were "cold, calculated and methodically conceived" and that Ravi acted out of "colossal insensitivity." Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail with a three-year probationary period to follow, including 300 community service hours, counseling on cyber-bullying and LGBT sensitivity and financial remuneration, a portion of which will be contributed to an organization that works to prevent bullying.

All colleges, their faculty, staff and students, and all communities everywhere, can heed the lessons Rutgers officials were forced to learn as tragic events unfolded on their campus. Several individuals, including campus housing staff and Ravi’s and Clementi’s hallmates, noted during the trial that they knew of the harassment faced by Clementi, but no one ever firmly stood up against it. Bystanders to bullying and harassment cannot be tolerated; we must all be up-standers as individuals and join with others to create communities of respect and civility.

“Every person has a responsibility to stand up for those who experience bullying and harassment – tragedies can be averted anytime even a single voice speaks out for the voiceless,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Bystanders – those who witness bullying or harassment and do nothing to stop it – can plead neither ignorance nor innocence. Active silence can be as damaging as active bullying and result in tragedies like Clementi’s death.”

Simple and commonsense steps could have prevented Clementi’s suicide. Since his death, Rutgers University has made several steps in bridging the gap between their LGBT students’ needs and the campus’ offered services, but too many colleges refuse to see the consequences of inaction and remain unsafe for LGBT students.

Of more than 4,000 colleges and universities across the U.S., less than 10 percent have opted to voluntarily assess their campus’ policies and practices using the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.campusprideindex.org). Less than seven percent of schools offer institutional support to LGBT students, such as an LGBT student center or programs director. Only 13 percent offer non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and just six percent protect students on the basis of gender identity. Only one school, Illinois’ Elmhurst College, asks students demographic questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on its admissions application.

Campus Pride calls on all colleges and universities to take steps now to fully include LGBT students on their campuses and to create safer, more welcoming environments where LGBT students can grow in their academic careers. Programs and policy implementation – such as anti-discrimination policies, safe and inclusive student conduct codes, gender-neutral housing, LGBT living-learning communities, hate-crime and bias-motivated incident response and LGBT-inclusive healthcare – are not optional.

“University administrators, faculty, campus housing staff and other trained professionals are paid to teach and to keep students safe,” said Windmeyer. “When professionals fail to do their jobs, students are unable to do theirs – to learn and to grow academically – and tragic incidents of suicide, hazing and bias-motivated violence became an all-too-real possibility. No student should ever live in fear for their own safety or struggle to be comfortable with themselves in the face of harassment.”

Trial of former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi highlights crucial responsibility of college and university administrators and staff in keeping LGBT students safe on campus

Campus Pride, the leading national non-profit working to make colleges and universities safer and more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, today marked the end of the weeks-long trial of former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi by issuing a call for all colleges to heed the lesson Rutgers officials were forced to learn as tragic events unfolded on their campus and to immediately implement the necessary policies, programs and practices to keep their LGBT students safe.

Ravi, accused of using his webcam to spy on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi during a sexual encounter with an unnamed male partner, was found guilty of several counts of invasion of privacy and guilty of several counts of bias intimidation toward Tyler Clementi, among other charges. The case attracted national attention after Clementi died by suicide in September 2010.

During the trial, details regarding Ravi’s and Clementi’s relationship as roommates and Clementi’s request to Rutgers housing officials for a room change underscored the single most important but least talked about issue since Clementi’s tragic death two years ago: The responsibility of college administrators, faculty and staff to keep their LGBT students safe.

“Though the trial has ended, there are no verdicts, no words and no sentiments that will ever bring Tyler Clementi back to his friends and to his family,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Additionally, this trial’s conclusion will not end the daily torment and harassment of LGBT students on college and university campuses across the nation.

"College and university professionals have an obligation to recognize the crucial role and responsibility they have in creating safer environments for LGBT students,” Windmeyer added. “Tragedies can be averted and lives can be saved when students feel safe and accepted and when universities are proactive in their approach to campus climate and the academic success of all students."

Simple and commonsense steps could have prevented Clementi’s suicide. Since his death, Rutgers University has made several steps in bridging the gap between their LGBT students’ needs and the campus’ offered services, but too many colleges refuse to see the consequences of inaction and remain unsafe for LGBT students.

Of more than 4,000 colleges and universities across the U.S., less than 10 percent have opted to voluntarily assess their campus’ policies and practices using the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.campusprideindex.org). Less than seven percent of schools offer institutional support to LGBT students, such as an LGBT student center or programs director. Only 13 percent offer non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and just six percent protect students on the basis of gender identity. Only one school, Illinois’ Elmhurst University, asks students demographic questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on its admissions application.

“The mere presence of an LGBT student organization or LGBT-inclusive policies will not make a campus safer for students,” said Windmeyer. “Concrete policy implementation put into immediate practice is necessary – constant work that includes listening to and including the voices of LGBT students and taking decisive and proactive steps to respond to their needs before tragedy occurs, not afterward.”

Campus Pride calls on all colleges and universities to take steps now to fully include LGBT students on their campuses and to create safer, more welcoming environments where LGBT students can grow in their academic careers. Programs and policy implementation – such as anti-discrimination policies, safe and inclusive student conduct codes, gender-neutral housing, LGBT living-learning communities, hate-crime and bias-motivated incident response and LGBT-inclusive healthcare – are not optional.

“University administrators, faculty, campus housing staff and other trained professionals are paid to teach and to keep students safe,” said Windmeyer. “When professionals fail to do their jobs, students are unable to do theirs – to learn and to grow academically – and tragic incidents of suicide, hazing and bias-motivated violence became an all-too-real possibility. No student should ever live in fear for their own safety or struggle to be comfortable with themselves in the face of harassment.”

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Last night, Campus PRide Executive Director Shane WIndmeyer appeared on CNN Headline News with Dr. Drew to discuss the on-going trial of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student accused of cyber-bullying roommate Tyler Clementi, who died from suicide in September 2010.

Windmeyer appeared with Allyson Pereira, who had nude photos of her at age 16 leaked by her boyfriend to her peers at school. Pereira said the Clementi and Ravi case wasn't a hate crime, though radio personality Erica "America" Hayden disagreed.

Windmeyer's comments cut right to the chase on the larger issues surrounding the case: "It's very disturbing the fact that this young man today was sharing that it was curiosity [that led him to spy on Clementi]. It is disturbing that young people today have so much privilege being straight that they don't see the repercussions of what it means to be gay and how difficult it is to come out."

Be sure to watch the interview and comment below!

See Campus Pride's previous statement on the case, "Trial of Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi highlights national priority to create safe and inclusive campuses for LGBT students."

A university's first and foremost responsibility is the safety and education of its students. LGBT-inclusion and safety programs and policy implementation are not optional.

The harassment and death of Tyler Clementi, pictured, and Rutgers University's handling of the ensuing controversy serve as prime examples of the need for increased awareness and responsibility by university administrators.

Jury selection in the trial against former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi, accused of cyber-bullying that ultimately led to the Sept. 22, 2010, suicide of his roommate Tyler Clementi, began on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. As the trial proceeds, the details regarding the relationship between Ravi and Clementi continue to highlight the need for college and university administrations to make their campuses safer and more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.

"Colleges should take responsibility for their LGBT students," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "At the heart of this issue is the right of LGBT youth and students to be heard and recognized on the important campus safety issues they face at school. Nearly a quarter of LGB students face harassment on campus and this percentage is even greater for our transgender students."

Clementi's death and Rutgers University's handling of the ensuing controversy serve as prime examples of the need for increased awareness and responsibility.

"The mere presence of an LGBT student organization or LGBT-inclusive policies will not make a campus safer for students," said Windmeyer. "Concrete policy and practice implentation is necessary -- constant work that includes listening to and including the voices of LGBT students and taking decisive action to respond to their needs."

Listening and responding to LGBT students takes effort on the part of university admissions, student life and housing professionals, Windmeyer added. Asking optional questions about students' sexual and gender identities on forms for admission, housing and other services is a crucial first step toward ensuring accountability in campus programming and resources. To date, only one U.S. institution of higher education, Illinois' Elmhurst College, has added such questions to their undergraduate admissions forms.

Since Clementi's death, officials at Rutgers University have implemented a "Respect and Civility" program and have created an LGBT student living/learning community -- a program students had been seeking for a number of years before the tragic incident in 2010.

Campus Pride calls on all colleges and universities to take steps to fully include LGBT students on their campuses and to create safer, more welcoming environments where LGBT students may live, learn and grow with respect and dignity. Programs and policy implementation -- such as anti-discrimination policies, safe and inclusive student conduct codes, gender-neutral housing, LGBT living-learning communities, hate-crime and bias-motivated incident response and LGBT-inclusive healthcare -- are not optional.

"A university's first and foremost responsibility is the safety and education of its students," Windmeyer said. "It is imperative that colleges and universities begin to recognize their role in creating safer environments for LGBT students. Tragedies can be averted and lives can be saved when students feel safe and accepted and when universities are proactive in their approach to campus climate."

As part of its continuing commitment to develop necessary resources, programs and services to support LGBT and ally students on college campuses across the United States, Campus Pride offers its national benchmarking and assessment tool, the Campus Climate Index (www.campusclimateindex.org), free-of-charge to college and university administrators seeking to understand the current needs, challenges and opportunities for their campuses.

Belmont University denies gay-straight student org

Nashville, Tenn.'s Belmont University has denied the formation of a gay-straight student organization on campus. Student Robbie Maris is president of the group, Bridge Builders. He says it started after a Facebook group was formed to support students at the private Christian (formerly Baptist) school.

"I know a lot of the gay community at Belmont feels marginalized and feels like they don't have a place to meet on campus," Maris told Nashville's News Channel 5.

University administrators said in a statement: "Recognizing the importance of mutual respect and diverse opinions from Christian perspectives and the challenges of cultivating such informal dialog on these issues, the university chose not to meet their request, but to create a university-led opportunity for this discussion. Beginning last spring, a university sponsored discussion group on these issues has convened twice monthly and expects to continue for the duration of this academic year." Read more...

Christian fraternity kicks out members

Two former members of Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., say they were told to leave the group because their sexual orientation violated the fraternities code of conduct. Read more...

Community college students want GSA

Students at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz., want to start a gay-straight alliance of their own, student paper Aztec Press reports. Read more...

Will Rutgers amend their policies?

New Jersey's Rutgers University has been at the center of controversies over student safety and LGBT inclusion on college campuses ever since student Tyler Clementi committed suicide in September. The Daily Princetonian explores the colleges current policies and discussions on possible amendments. Read more...

UCLA ROTC follows 'Don't Ask'

The University of California-Los Angeles' student newspaper, Daily Bruin, explores the college's policies as it relates to the campus ROTC program. Read more...

Canadian school district asks students about sexual orientation

As American colleges determine whether or not to ask students voluntary questions on sexual orientation and gender-identity, one Canadian school district is beating them to the punch. Canada's Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is conducting a voluntary, anonymous survey of each of its students in grades 7-12. They'll ask 150,000 students a variety of questions, including, according to the blog Queerty, "how much money their parents make, what religion they belong to, and what kind of job they imagine holding down in the future." The survey also askes if "they like boys or girls or both." Grades 6 and below will receive a different questionnaire. Read more...

Students at Rutgers University and many involved with the new group, Queering the Air, a “queer-centric social justice organization,” have called for an Oct. 28, 2010, march and rally in response to the tragic September suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi.

In an Oct. 19, 2010, release, Queering the Air states:

Under the banner of Justice Not Vengeance, Queering the Air will march and rally on Wednesday, October 28, 2010. This action will decry the rush to judgment of Ravi and Wei, the racist and xenophobic vitriol used against them, and raise larger issues about homophobia, transphobia, and lack of safety on campus.

Campus Pride lends its support and encouragement to Queering the Air. We join them in condemning unwarranted, racist and xenophobic attacks on Ravi and Wei, and wish the march and rally success in bringing awareness to Rutgers University administration’s inaction to create safer and more inclusive learning and living environments on its campus.

However, awareness and public discussion alone will not create safer campus climates for LGBT students. Campus Pride believes administrations at institutions of higher education must take concrete policy actions and ensure enforcement of those policies through comprehensive and inclusive practices in order for campuses to become truly safer for LGBT students, faculty and staff.

In addition to requests by Campus Pride and students for concrete policy and practice changes by Rutgers University administration, Campus Pride also reiterates our previous call for the expulsion of Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, in accordance with university policies on student disciplinary matters.

“No campus is immune to what happened at Rutgers, but what is concerning is the inaction by university administrators to deal with the climate issues being presented by LGBT students both now and prior to the incident,” says Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride executive director and founder. “Campus Pride believes students who are LGBT should be heard and the intervention should be multifaceted in addressing real issues of campus safety and inclusion. The expulsion of Ravi and Wei is only a small part of a much larger issue, and university administrators’ lack of an expedient response communicates a complacency and silence that must not prevail.”

Windmeyer adds, “The lack of response – other than President Richard McCormick’s statement that ‘we did all we could’ – is not enough. Justice includes enforcing already existing campus policies and student codes of conduct and taking action to prevent future incidents. Suicide among gay youth has always happened, and in the light of current national attention to the issue Campus Pride believes saying 'it gets better' only goes so far. We need to ensure that it gets better by taking immediate, concrete action. LGBT people don’t commit suicide because they are gay; they commit suicide because of the inhumane, discriminatory and harassing treatment they receive from others. This bias, discrimination and prejudice is allowed to persist on university campuses when administrators and staff refuse to take principled stands, accompanied by policy and practice changes, and hold responsible students accountable to student codes of conduct and other disciplinary policies.”

Another gay teenager has committed suicide at an American college. Corey Jackson, a 19-year-old student at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., was found dead in a wooded area near campus. Police say he hanged himself on Tuesday, Oct. 19.

The Michigan Messenger reports that police say bullying was not a factor in Johnson's death. They spoke to Melissa Pope, director of Oakland University's Gender and Sexuality Center, who addressed the larger issue of general treatment toward LGBT people:

We must look beyond the term “bullying” to the overall treatment of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community to begin to grasp the long-standing epidemic of suicide among our LGBT youth.

While the national press has picked up this issue over the last two months, we have been losing high numbers of LGBT youth to suicide for decades. In recent years, we’ve labeled the cause as bullying. But the root cause goes deeper – it goes to the very core of our society that discriminates against the LGBT community on all levels, including the denial of basic human rights that are supposed to belong to every person.

As I sit with the students who regularly visit the Oakland University Gender and Sexuality Center, including the newer members of our community, drawn to the Center for affirmation and support, I am confident that these individuals know they are loved and accepted for who they are. My greater concern is the hundreds of students, faculty and staff who do not come to the Center. Those who are afraid to come out – perhaps even to themselves – for fear of the persecution they will suffer. My greatest hope is that those who feel isolated reach out to resources like the GSC to discover they are not alone. We are here to listen and offer support.

In the nearly two months of sustained, national media coverage on the issue of gay teen suicide, Campus Pride has several times spoken out on issues of campus safety and inclusion for both high schoolers and especially students at institutions of higher education. We've applauded Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" campaign, but have been dismayed by many statements from community members and celebrities alike that life somehow "gets better" once a student travels to college. We have stressed that, many times, life does not magically "get better" on college and university campuses, and tragedies such as Rutgers' Tyler Clementi, Johnson & Wales' Raymond Chase and Oakland's Jackson prove this.

In order for life to get better, we must make it better, and university administrators across the nation must take concrete actions to make their campus learning and living environments safer for students. Sadly, as shown by results from the 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People, many colleges and universities have yet to take these actions and many students, faculty and staff continue to feel the sting of anti-LGBT discrimination, prejudice and harassment in their working environments, classrooms, dorms, athletic fields and elsewhere.

Campus Pride encourages administrators at institutions of higher education to learn more about how they can create safer learning environments for their students by participating in the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, the most comprehensive review and scale of effective policies, practices and procedures that will ensure inclusive and welcoming campuses and equal opportunity for all students.

This release landed in our inboxes today. We felt it was worth sharing...

RUTGERS FEELS HEAT OVER CLEMENTI SUICIDE: While University Stonewalls Students and Public, Sex Columnist Brought to Campus. University President to Get Queer Demands on October 21.

Rutgers University is bringing sex advice columnist Dan Savage to Campus on Monday, October 18, 2010. Savage's appearance was set up in the aftermath of Tyler Clementi's September 22, 2010 suicide, which has drawn national attention to the campus and conditions for LGBTQ students and others. Given Rutgers' newly-inaugurated "Project Civility," Savage is a peculiar choice; Savage has been criticized for insensitivity to people of color, women, transgender people, and people whose body's do not fit the media's portrayal of the norm. Recent protests at Rutgers suggest that tonight's event could become heated.

The Monday event is part of "Rutgers Responds," a series of events on which the Rutgers administration has spent an undisclosed sum. This series, while pandering to politically-correct sympathy, has changed nothing. Rutgers students continue to demand policy changes to better secure the campus and ensure genuine diversity. Rutgers' handling of the suicide - the second LGBTQ-related death on campus since March 2010 - continues under scrutiny.

When asked about Rutgers' role, including unresolved complaints to Residence Life by Clementi concerning his roommate, university President Richard McCormick would only allow, "I believe we did all we could and we did the right thing."

Rather than self-serving statements and feel-good events, Queering the Air and allies demand answers and action on long-standing complaints about the campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people.

Last week, the Rutgers University student newspaper ran an editorial entitled "Media exploits university tragedy." The response nationwide was dramatic. Below is a well-composed comment by Bill Courson left on CampusPrideBlog.org about the editorial. We thought it was worth sharing in a post.

The editorial appearing in today's Daily Targum ("Media exploits university tragedy") is thinly concealed homophobia, from start to finish.

Immersed in heterosexual privilege, an editor or editorial staff such as this has no worthwhile guidance to offer on the subject of gay and lesbian issues; indeed, calling this editorial presumptious falls far, far short of the intensity of the offense given by it to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Rutgers students, faculty, and administration as well as the larger community.

The writers of this piece might be ignored, but better yet, castigated and called to account for their decerebrate impertinence in writing: "… The mistake was that Clementi's death should not have been turned into a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender protest for gay rights and safe spaces at the University … Essentially, an angry mob fending for their rights turned the death of a young boy into a cause for "safe spaces" for gays across the University – all the while, these spaces already existed."

Self-evidently, this is untrue.

Self-evidently, to make such an assertion is ineffably stupid, and is redolent with the fetid ichor of "Focus on the Family."

Dear President McCormick,

I was a Reader's Digest editor for 20 years, and a commissioner of education in Los Angeles Unified School District (1996-99), as well as being a long-time published author.

Rutgers will never (your words) "rise to the highest tier" among American universities unless it does the right thing about Tyler Clementi's suicide.

Your school must act decisively in this case. You must expel both Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei for invasion of privacy of fellow student Tyler Clementi. Their actions were a clear violation of campus code.

If Rutgers does not enforce its own rules, you are sending a message that student lawlessness can rule your campus, whether it relates to LGBT students or other matters. This lethal incident will become a black mark on your school's reputation, and a red alert to parents, who will be well-advised to send their children to schools, where their rights, safety and privacy will be protected by rules that are actually enforced.

Sincerely yours,
Patricia Nell Warren

***************************************

Email we sent to the President at Rutgers:

My husband and I are both alumni of Rutgers University (Law School and Social Work School.) And we have many gay and lesbian family members.

We understand that the Rutgers University Code of Student Conduct prohibits "making or attempting to make an audio or video recording of any person(s) on University premises in bathrooms, showers, bedrooms, or other premises where there is an expectation of privacy with respect to nudity and/or sexual activity, without the knowledge and consent of all participants subject to such recordings."