When Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutger's University, committed suicide last month after being bullied for his sexual orientation, it hit home for Princeton students. We typically consider ourselves a welcoming place for gay students, but in the wake of this incident, we've been forced to reexamine how welcoming we really are.
Clementi, an eighteen-year-old freshman at Rutgers, jumped off the George Washington Bridge in New York on September 22, after his roommate with another man.
In the days immediately following the incident, it seemed like Clementi?s death was everywhere on Princeton?s campus. His suicide was so close to home?Princeton is a mere 18.3 miles away from Rutgers by car?that it really scared some people, and the fact that Molly Wei was a Princeton Junction native meant that the event was constantly present in the local news.
?I think the closeness did have a definite effect on us,? said Christina Henricks, a Princeton sophomore who has been active in events at Princeton?s LGBT Center since she arrived here last fall. "It happened nearby, rather than in another state, and that makes it much more relatable."
LGBT stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered," and is an acronym often used to describe the community of students with sexual preferences that are not strictly heterosexual.
Our LGBT Center hosted a number of events related to Clementi?s death, starting with an informal discussion at the Center on October 2. At the discussion, over twenty undergrads, grad students, a Public Safety officer, Resident Advsiors (R.A.s), faculty members, and other administrators took the opportunity to discuss how the tragedy had affected them.
?It affected everyone on some personal level,? said Henricks of the discussion. "Some people had lived in New Jersey, some people were active in the LGBT community on campus, and others had never been involved with the Center and just wanted to discuss the issue.?
Students also went en masse to Rutgers University's candlelit vigil for Clementi on October 3. The Princeton contingent dressed in our school colors, orange and black, to make it clear that Rutgers had our school?s support. Princeton also contributed money for the candles at the vigil, Henricks said.
?As people were leaving [the vigil], a Rutgers professor actually approached me and another Princeton student and thanked us for being there,? Henricks said. ?He said he?d gone to Columbia, and that he was proud to see the kind of Ivy support that we brought by reaching out to Rutgers.?
One of the scariest things about Clementi?s death is that it?s part of an emerging national trend of teen suicides related to homophobia. According to Debbie Bazarsky, the Director of Princeton's LGBT Center, more than seven other teenagers in the United States and Canada have committed suicide as a response to homophobia in the past ten weeks.
?This year is an exception: if you asked me about the past ten years, I?d say incidents have definitely been on the decline, but these past months have seen a real spike, and we don?t really know what that?s about,? Bazarsky said. ?I haven?t seen anyone about physical violence or anything extreme here at Princeton in a number of years, but verbal harassment can be just as hurtful.?
The news of Clementi's suicide came in the wake of a , conducted by the nonprofit group College Pride. After surveying more than 5,000 students, faculty members and administrators at colleges and universities across the country, College Pride concluded that LGBT students are far more likely to experience discrimination on campus, more likely to drop out of college because of harassment, and much more likely to fear for their physical safety.
Campuses nationwide have been reacting to this frightening new trend by holding vigils, setting up task forces, and closely reexamining their harassment policies. Active Minds, a network of campus groups focused on mental health, at Montclair State University, another New Jersey college that's about 30 miles from Rutgers. Students at Quinnipiac University to honor Clementi. At the University of Wisconsin, a panel discussion tapped faculty and students . In Washington, D.C. the city council has proposed a new bill .
The scope of the Clementi tragedy has also caused Princeton administrators, faculty and students alike to reexamine how we combat harassment on our campus, as well as how we reach out to LGBT students.