The Tragedy of the Tyler Clementi Case

West Long Branch, N.J. (The Verge) – The Tragedy of the Tyler Clementi Case
America has been gripped by stories and trials of tragedy over the past few years. From Casey Anthony to the public outcry of the Trayvon Martin shootings, the American public has seen it all. A case recently got wrapped up from right up Route 18, and while different in nature, it has earned it’s fair share of publicity and turn the American public’s attention towards bullying.
Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman, jumped off the George Washington Bridge, taking his own life in a story that has shocked many. The reason for his suicide was because of his roommate, Dharun Ravi, who set up his computer webcam to spy on Clementi while he was in his room with another man. Police reports say that Ravi was spying on Clementi with a hall mate, Molly Wei. Ravi claims he set it up to make sure nothing got stolen from his room, as the man Clementi was with was an older, “shabby” looking man.

However, deleted text messages and Twitter post made by Ravi show he did write statements about Clementi kissing another man, and showed it to friends and followers on his Twitter, one of whom was Tyler Clementi himself. On September 22, 2010, Tyler Clementi left his dorm and went to the George Washington Bridge. He posted a status on his facebook that read “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”. A Little after 8:40, Clementi jumped to his death. His body was pulled out of the Hudson River a week later.
All attention turned to Ravi, who was charged with 15 counts, including invasion of privacy, tampering with evidence, witness tampering, bias intimidation and others. However, Ravi was never directly charged with Clementi’s death, as it was ruled a suicide.
As college students, most of us have been through the process of living in dorms and with new, different people you don’t know very well. Sometimes you make friends that you keep for the rest of your life, other times, you dislike the person and need to switch rooms or roommates. Some Monmouth students spoke out about the tradegy.
“ I have a lot of friends who attend Rutgers, and when the news came out, they were shocked and upset, despite knowing him personally. There are a lot of ways this situation could have been avoided and a kid could still be alive enjoying his freshman experience at college,” explained Mark Guarino, a commuter student to Monmouth.
“ I had problems with a roommate freshman year. We had our problems and worked them out like adults. Ravi’s situation is different, where he had a gay roommate and didn’t know how to handle the situation. What he did to spy on him and push him over the edge is extremely hateful, and Ravi deserves to be punished,” said Doug Ball, another Monmouth student.
Dharun Ravi was sentenced on March 16, 2012. He was found guilty of all 15 counts against him. Molly Wei was not charged, as she testified against Ravi and is performing community service. Both have dropped out of Rutgers University. His sentencing is on May 21^st, and he can get over 20 years in prison, or even deported back to his native India.
“ He may not be charged with the direct death of Tyler Clementi, but his intimidation and invasion of privacy forced a young man to kill himself. It is not right, and people should be left alone, and he should get the book thrown at him in terms of sentencing,” explained Danny Aquino, a criminal justice major.
Many other students were in agreement that Dharun Ravi should be punished for his crime on Tyler Clementi. Earlier in 2010, Ravi and Clementi were graduating high school, excited for their college experiences and what lied ahead of them. Then, a tragic few months later, both of their lives and lives of their close family and friends were changed due to an immature act of disrespect and invasion of privacy. Everyone should be treated equal, and there are ways to work out every situation.