Students and administrators at Tufts have responded to a series of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)−related teen suicides across the country, attending vigils and discussions about anti−LGBT bullying.
A contingent of Tufts students on Tuesday evening joined a sizable crowd of Boston−area residents in solidarity in front of the Massachusetts State House, lighting candles in remembrance of gay individuals who recently committed suicide.
The vigil, organized by LGBT rights group Join the Impact Massachusetts, is a response to a number of LGBT teen suicides that have taken place in the past month.
LGBT Center Director Tom Bourdon said the suicides' impact has been felt at Tufts. "I've heard from a large number of students as well as faculty and staff who really feel a lot of hurt and sadness about the recent events," Bourdon said.
The LGBT Center hosted two community conversations on Tuesday and Wednesday to address the issue.
Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi's death has received media attention nationwide. Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge in New York on Sept. 22 after his roommate Dharun Ravi and classmate Molly Wei allegedly streamed his gay sexual encounter online.
Other recent cases include 15−year−old Billy Lucas, who killed himself on Sept. 9, and 13−year−old Seth Walsh, who hung himself on Sept. 19. Both had been suffering from harassment in their respective schools. Thirteen−year−old Asher Brown killed himself on Sept. 23, soon after coming out. Six days later, openly gay Johnson & Wales University student Raymond Chase hung himself in his dorm room.
In an e−mail sent out by the grant team at Tufts Community Cares and the Department of Health and Wellness, University President Lawrence Bacow addressed Clementi's death.
"Tyler Clementi's suicide is an unspeakable tragedy and a senseless loss," Bacow was quoted as saying in the e−mail. "No one should have to put up with such treatment. It is important to me that LGBT students at Tufts feel safe and respected as members of our community."
Bourdon forwarded the e−mail that included Bacow's message to the Tufts LGBT community on Sept. 30.
But many students who attended a weekly Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) meeting on Monday had hoped for a greater response from the administration," according to QSA Co−president Martine Kaplan, a sophomore.
"There was a lot of feeling that the administration should have responded beyond the queer community, Kaplan said. "We know what's going on, but maybe everyone else doesn't, and they should."
Many college students are in the process of exploring their sexual identities and may feel alone in this, according to Shane Windmeyer, one of the founders and current executive director of national nonprofit Campus Pride. Campus Pride began in 2001 as an effort to improve LGBT life on college campuses.
"Some students are still very much in the closet when they come to college campuses and don't even call themselves gay because they haven't come out to themselves," he told the Daily. "Those, oftentimes, are the students who are the most isolated."
Harassment affects students beyond the LGBT community, Kaplan said. "This isn't just a gay issue," she said. "Bullying affects everyone, and it's something everyone needs to be aware of."
Bourdon echoed Kaplan's sentiments, pointing to the broader problem of bullying and intolerance.
"I do think the bigger issue is bullying in general, as well as a general lack of respect for other peoples' privacy and their identities," Bourdon said.
"It's not a new issue, and its not an issue that's going to go away when the media stops reporting about it," Kaplan said.
Windmeyer said that social media provide a new outlet for harassment. "Facebook and Twitter are just new hangouts where people are able to harass like they do anywhere else," he said.
Rutgers freshman Stephanie Siano said that the Rutgers campus has been shaken by Clementi's death.
"The media coverage is ridiculous," Siano told the Daily. "It's definitely having an impact on everyone. It's an extremely negative thing for Rutgers."
West Windsor−Plainsboro High School North, which Siano attended along with Ravi and Wei, has also been the target of hateful e−mails and phone calls following the incident, according to Siano.
"Our district has been taking a huge beating," she said. "I can't say I'm from West Windsor anymore."
Siano defended her university, emphasizing that the Rutgers environment was not responsible for the bullying. "This was not a Rutgers−induced occurrence," she said. "I'm actually shocked it would happen here. We're one of the most diverse campuses I've ever seen."
Since Clementi's death, a number of Facebook groups have been created, calling for Ravi and Wei's expulsion and imprisonment.
"It's sad in the sense that what's happening to them is the exact same thing they did to Tyler," Siano said. "It's cyber−bullying."
A recent Campus Pride study revealed that 23 percent of students, faculty and staff who self−identified as LGBT have experienced harassment or discrimination on their campus, according to Windmeyer.
Only seven percent of the country's accredited colleges and universities provide institutional support for LGBT students, Windmeyer said. Thirteen percent of colleges address sexual orientation in their non−discrimination policy, while less than six percent have protections for transgender students.
"In 2010, you'd think that colleges would have basic non−discrimination policies that include sexual orientation," Windmeyer said.
Windmeyer believes campuses should train resident assistants to address invasions of privacy and ensure that students feel safe in their environments.
"Colleges need to do a better job, during their summer orientation and during their new student orientation, of making sure that they send the signal that diversity is respected," he said.
Bourdon said that Tufts is a positive environment for LGBT students. "Tufts is a great place where there's tons of visibility for the queer community as well as support," he said.
Speakers at the vigil called for LGBT community members and allies to take social and political action to prevent discriminatory and hateful actions. "If you see something, say something," Tufts junior Chris Mason, co−founder of Join the Impact Massachusetts, told the crowd.
At the vigil, attendees held signs that read "Love is love" and "It's not who you love, it's how you love."
"We need to speak up if we hear something on a state level or a national level," Mason said at the event. "If you hear a politician speaking violence against our community, if you hear a preacher or a pundit speaking violence against our community, speak up. … It's not right. We cannot be used this way. Violence leads to death. That's what we're realizing here."
National Coming Out Day will be held this year on Oct. 11. Tufts will hold a rally in celebration of National Coming Out Day two days later on Oct. 13.
Kaplan advised students who feel isolated to seek help. "Reach out," she said. "There are multiple communities who are ready to embrace you no matter what you're going through and people who really want to help you. It can be really hard to take that first step, but it's worth it."
