On September 22, Tyler Clementi, an eighteen-year-old Rutgers University student, jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate filmed him having sex with another man and leaked the video on the internet. Inspired by a handful of high profile teen suicides that were brought on by anti-gay bullying, sex columnist Dan Savage launched the “It Gets Better” campaign. After Clementi’s death, the campaign went viral, with celebrities from Ciara to President Obama contributing their own video testimony. In mid-November, the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act was introduced to Congress.
Against Bullying, Or Loving Queer Kids [The Nation]
Dan Savage Tells LGBT Youth It Gets Better [Chicagoist]
Tyler Clementi Act Introduced To Congress, Includes Cyberbullying [Campus Progress]
Credit: AP Images
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