Those who have visited the RYSE Center any time in the past week may have noticed posters on the wall promoting events connected to "Youth Stopping Violence" Month. These events have taken on a deeper meaning in the hearts of RYSE members and staff as we all have gotten word of six (known) teen suicides in the past month connected to homophobic bullying. The news of these cases, the most-publicized of which being Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi's  suicide after his sexual encounter was secretly streamed online, is absolutely heart-wrenching and gives me cause for some deep soul-searching.

In discussions about how suicides such as Clementi's can be avoided, I have noticed a common thread which ties different races, social classes, genders, and sexual orientations — that teachers, parents, and community members need to increase their vigilance in working with young people to teach ethics and critical thinking about how online technology can destroy lives. This common refrain of, "With the click of a mouse, lives can be destroyed forever," seems to become a greater media focus (at least, a more relatable focus) than the kind of special person who Clementi was. I don't know who Clementi was, but I believe that his legacy should not share a common bond with, for example, the multitude of dumb people who have lost their job over college party photos on Facebook. That is to say, not to make light of such a tragic situation.

Instead of demonizing online technology, I offer that we look towards the real underlying cause of Clementi's terror: homophobia. Do you think that a male college freshman whose sexual encounter with a woman was secretly streamed online would have suffered anything like the humiliation and derision that Clementi anticipated? I sure don't. Rather than focusing on the issue of privacy in online technology, I hope that in the wake of this tragic and unacceptable string of events, young people will reflect on the consequences of bigotry and intolerance.