Student Charged With ‘Bias’ After Rutgers Roomate’s Suicide
- Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:01pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A former Rutgers University freshman was indicted Wednesday on bias intimidation and other charges after allegedly using a webcam to spy on a same-sex encounter involving his roommate, who committed suicide shortly afterward in a case that started a national conversation on bullying.
A 15-count indictment was handed up Wednesday by a Middlesex County grand jury against Dharun Ravi, of Plainsboro, who had already faced invasion of privacy charges along with another student, Molly Wei.
The indictment charges Ravi with bias, invasion of privacy, witness and evidence tampering, and other charges stemming from the suicide of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi in September. The indictment said charges against Wei would not be presented to the grand jury “at this time.”
Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River shortly after authorities say Ravi and Wei used a webcam to peek at his liaison. Lawyers for Ravi say the webcam stream was viewed only on a single computer and did not show the men having sex.
The death of Clementi, a promising violinist in his first weeks at college, came amid a string of high-profile suicides of young people who were gay or perceived to be gay.
Partly because of his high-profile death and the other circumstances surrounding his suicide, Clementi became a face of the issue.
President Barack Obama and celebrities including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and sex columnist Dan Savage have talked publicly about his death and said that young gays and lesbians need to know that life gets better.
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NuffSaid
Posted on April 21, 2011 at 6:54amToo bad he didn’t jump from the third story and land on Ravi. If you must take your life take one or two of these liberal jerks with you. R.I.P Clemmenti
Report Post »Richard441
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:34pmso glad to hear other people call this for what it is….. as sad as it is for any suicide, the “victim” killed himself rather than live with the reality being outed. the left has tried for so long to convince people that this is a normal lifestyle choice, yet people are so morally conflicted about their decision that they choose death. tells you a lot about their decision.
oh by the way, there is no privacy in a dorm room.
Report Post »benrush
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:15pmWhere I come from we are responsible for our own suicides
Report Post »Pedro Gonzalez
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:49pm………The Attorney General in New Jersey brought this to the grand jury because of the threatened mass suicides by homosexuals and other sexual deviants. Helen DeGenerates said she was going to kill herself by stuffing herself with tuna until she croaked. Michael Moore said he would throw himself in front of a Twinkies delivery truck (after stuffing himself with Twinites, of course) and Barney Frank said he would over indulge one night with 1,000 young men in a San Francisco bath house.
Report Post »alina.bolero
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:49pmI don’t understand why people care about what idiots think of them. Embrace who you are! Embrace your individuality! It is this liberal mantra of needing to be part of the collective which is causing these kids to off themselves!
Report Post »Tyr
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:17pmHow come nobody will discuss the actual acts of homosexuality. I find that when debating the issue with Liberals, graphicly and obscenely describing the act of male on male anal sex tends to disgust even the most rabid pro-gay Lib. They tell me I am being sick or perverted for even uttering the words describing these acts. I reply that if my graphic verbal description (complete with arm and hand gestures), of the act is sick and/or perverted then the act itself is also…right? It really tends to blow their minds. I mean honestly, the word “Gay” just sounds so friendly and innocent.
Report Post »Superstarr
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:11pmIf being homosexual is supposed to be so natural (after all its love between two people) why would someone be so ashamed of being caught in the act that he wants to kill himself?
Report Post »GetUpOnTheWheel
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:59pmI too am seriously confused about this person being charged with Bias? WTH is that? That’s a law?
Report Post »If so..the MSM should all be executed.
Gonzo
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:35pmI wish somebody had filmed Obama in the back of the limo with that gay guy. He would be a distant memory by now.
Report Post »Barb1954
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:27pmOK WAIT! LOL Since when do we have laws against BIAS???? If that’s the case….I know a SLEW of folks in the LAMESTREAM MEDIA that the charge would STICK TOO with a vengence! LMAO
Report Post »chips1
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:23pmYou have just convicted Obama. Good job.
Report Post »Cathy
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:03pmA bully is a bully is a bully….whether they are on the school yard, or hiding devices to be recorded.
What if Tyler had been having sex with a woman, and THAT was recorded. What if they girl came from “strict” family, and the risk of exposure caused HER to do something to herself, including suicide.
I find this story DEPLORABLE. A man is DEAD – NEVER able to get his life back. He was so TERRIFIED of being “outed” that he ended his life. Can you imagine terror like that? I can’t, and I pray I never do.
The “people” who taped this are BOTH responsible. And DON‘T try to tell me they weren’t going to “tell anyone”…that’s a buch of crap. They were going to try to HUMILIATE this own man so BADLY that he thought DEATH would be a better option…THINK about that…he thought DEATH was a better option.
May he rest in peace. I have NOTHING but sympathy for his entire family.
And for the two who taped it? Oh…you’ll get yours. NOT sure if it will be in THIS lifetime or not, but someday, you’ll stand before the “Big Guy”…whatcha gonna say then??????
Report Post »TMink
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:07pmCathy, what if he had been asked time and time again to not engage in sex in his dorm room by his roomate? What if he was being disrespectful to his roomate and the roomate was just trying to get him to stop?
You jump into the victim scenario really quickly, don’t you?
Trey
Report Post »gunslingerpatriot
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:06pmSo Cathy-Who is the bully and who is the victim? Remember that there are always at least two sides to every story, and it will be interesting to see how much documentation this guy has to defend himself of the times he went to his RA, addressed with it various school officials, emails to his roomie to respect the common space they both shared and etc. Please remember, this problem had been going on all semester.
Rutgers is one of the most gay friendly schools in the country, and the young man who committed suicide had a variety of options at his disposal to address this issue. Heck-he could have complained about his roomates “homophobia” and the guy would either have been expelled or moved to another room based on a single accusation alone. The problem is that this solution was denied to the other roomate and he had to learn to be more tolerant of diverse points of views per his RA. So where was the tolerance and respect from the gay student regarding his roomate’s discomfort?
Sadly, I see this everyday at my own school and if you are part of the oppressive class (i.e. Christian, conservative, white, male and Veteran)-you won’t be treated with respect or shown the same level of tolerance that is demanded by the special protected groups on campus. I have a list of stories of what I have gone through here since 2007 in psych/socio/english and math classes of the vitrol that comes from these professors mouths.
Report Post »Pattondog
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:03pmno one told him to jump, that was his own choice period. time to take responsibility for your own beleifs and practices and ultimately decisions. yes it is very unfortunate he took his own life.
Report Post »he should of confronted the idiot who spied on him, yes embarrasing being caught with your pants down. however, doing addult things you should be adult enough to say yah so what i did what did beacuse thats what i do. big deal. instead we have some being charged of being “Bias”. hmm okay if thats the case how many of you\ us are guilty of having a bias. i got to go now the thought police are at my door, evidently im not politicly correct and msnbc sent them after me for having an opposing opinion.
Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:41pmBeautiful artwork at the entrance of schools sayiing, “NO BULLYING” is not only beautiful but effective. Let students participate by creating their own artwork and displaying it.
Report Post »garylee123
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:03pmBetter yet, how about the Ten Commandments. No bullying…..what a bunch of crap. Raise your wimps so they can be afraid of Happy Meal toys.
Report Post »gunslingerpatriot
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:41pmI have been following this case for awhile, and its interesting to see that the AP failed to mention some important facts of the case. Part of the problem with this situation is that the roomate had been asking his gay roomate to respect his right to privacy and to stop bringing home guys everynight. When that didn’t work, he went to his RA (resident advisor), didn’t get any help there, and was told to be more open minded and tolerant. He asked to be reassigned to a different room and was denied since living with people of diverse points of view is part of the learning process in college.
The gay roomate knew he was being video taped, since he found the camera on a few occasions and pushed the situation. In the end, he took his own life and created his own “Matthew Shepherd” moment. The only person responsible for this suicide is the person himself-not the school or the straight roomate.
Report Post »TMink
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:05pmI bet the media has been leaving that part out! It does not fit the innocent victim of homophobia narrative that they want to construct.
News Flash. Most people find homosexual sex icky. There it is, you can accept that, ignore it, waste your time trying to change it, or whatever, but there it is. And it will not really change. We are not made for that.
Now, having said that, gay folks are God’s children and need and deserve our love and respect like anyone else. But homosexuality will never be perfectly acceptable to everyone.
Trey
Report Post »Marylou7
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:38pmSorry but hopefully I will never do anything that will cause my suicide if caught. If you have a dorm mate, quess what, there is no privacy.
Report Post »gunslingerpatriot
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:42pmThats for sure, and try to imagine being in the military living in the barracks, ship or etc for the lack of privacy at times.
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:17pmIf you don’t have a law, make one up.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:16pmFrom reading the headline..I didn’t realize “bias” was a codified offense. Was it a felony or misdemeanor “bias”?
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:15pmIf you feel like jumping off a bridge because someone saw what you did, that says more about what you were doing than the person that saw it.
Report Post »Vickie Dhaene
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:38pmI agree. His soul was dark and his actions perversed, He would not have felt shame if he had not known it was wrong. They know it’s wrong in the eyes of God and I have pray for their souls.
Report Post »Cyhort
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:36pmHe killed himself because of attitudes like this, not because he thought it was a “sin” or some other crap like that. If people would realize that being gay is just a sexual orientation and not a perverted, deviant “lifestyle” or a sin (based off one line in the bible mind you, if you have a problem with homosexuality then you should have just as much of a problem with people who shave their beards, eat meat on Friday and plant wheat and barley in the same field) then people in situations like this might not feel the need to kill themselves to spare themselves a life of ridicule and condemnation for something they had no choice in. Now, having said that the “bias” charge is BS. If anything he should be charged with invasion of privacy and unlawful surveillance. As much as I’d love people to be accepting of gays legislating it is not at all the right way to do it. You can’t legally police thought.
Report Post »MemphisViking
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:25pmIf people killed themselves because of attitudes like that there wouldn’t be any conservatives left, since liberals say far worse about us than any of us say about gays, and they have the media to make their viewpoint seem mainstream.
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:11pmSince when is stating and living an objection to what GODs word labels an abomination a criminal act?
I agree filming and harassment is wrong, whomever does it, especially if the intent is to humiliate another person is severly lacking in character.
Bias, yes I am in agreement with the word of GOD on the issue of unnatural acts between like sex’s.
Does that give me permissions to harass and harangue someone because of there choices, no.
“judge not lest you be judged.” when we stand upon the word of GOD as our moral compass we do not judge, we stand in agreement with GODs judgement.
This story is sad on so many levels, heartbreaking.
Report Post »gunslingerpatriot
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:08pmThe Philadelphia 5 group comes to mind…
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:05pmI wish that he never jumped & confronted that SOB .
Report Post »Revere1
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:09pmBeing charged with “bias”? How delightfully Orwellian. That’s your liberal universities at work: http://www.battlefield315.com/2011/03/liberal-universities-explained.html Crazy places.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:13pmPresident Barack Obama and celebrities including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and sex columnist Dan Savage have talked publicly about his death and said that young gays and lesbians need to know that life gets better.
SHAME on these people if you call them PEOPLE!!
Report Post »greggor
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:18pmI most certainly agree. However, the two who perpetrated this invasion of privacy should in no way be charged with the victim’s death.
Report Post »If getting caught having sex.. gay or otherwise.. is something that might cause you to end your life.. then maybe you should reconsider having it in what is obviously not a very “private” area. While I agree that a dorm room should offer a certain expectation of privacy.. if you are that obsessed with hiding your sexual identity.. then damn.. choose a better location.
afishfarted
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:24pmBIAS ?!?! Now it’s a crime?? I defy anyone to NOT have a bias on any subject. You don’t like my bias, tough nuts.I don’t like yours. See my point?
Report Post »How much more will the liberals have to do before the sleeping idiots realize they have no freedom? When will they consider that we still have a Constitution, as tattered as it may be. As far as I know, we haven’t outlawed it yet.
lovenfl3
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:24pmWhile this was a sad ending for this guy, crime is crime. It is no more severe just because the victim was gay. It’s no different than the hate crime law. Liberals are destroying this country bit by bit.
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIMRNUGXxII
conversationcanwork
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:26pm@BANJARMON
Are you honestly saying that LBGT people aren’t people?
Report Post »theonefromabove
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:42pmHow was he supposed to know the guy took him seriously?
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »sooner12
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:46pmJust wait until we have thought police.
Report Post »expatinontariocanada
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:03pmSorry to inform you, we already have thought police. Where else could hate crimes come from? How can anyone construe intentions and motivations, know what’s in your heart but God? Alas, it’s all but gone…
Report Post »en2deep
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:36pmsooner12 Wait until we have thought police. Sorry to inform you we already have them; see Media Matters, National organization of women, NAACP,LGBT, and every other liberal organization. This guy may be in violation of privacy but not responsible for suicide.
Report Post »No1YaKnow
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:24pmI can go with the invasion of privacy, but “bias”? How exactly do you charge that unless you are the thought police? Oh wait….look where we are talking about. Ravi was wrong, but bias? Letting the precedent take hold is a danger to society—and the people should fight against that type of charge. Yes, punish the guy for obvious actual laws that were broken, but BIAS???? Coming to the U.S. soon if we remain silent.
Report Post »unabashed
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:58pmdear banjarmon,
Report Post »I have never been so enraged by a single comment in my entire life. To suggest that members of an alternative race, creed, religion, social status or sexual orientation are not people demonstrates that you are narcissistic, petty, ignorant and small.
Your comment is VERY distantly removed form ANY decent moral principal I’ve EVER heard of.
Just because you disagree with somebody’s life choices does not give you the right to debase their value as a human being behind the thin veil of your moral consciousness.
Okay Im done with that. On to the issue
The title is a bit misleading, and the charges are stemming from the departed’s untimely demise. There’s almost no way a jury would find him guilty of murder / manslaughter, but he will more than likely plead guilty to the invasion of privacy charges, but it should make for an interesting debate about politically motivated crimes. I’ll watch this one.