rutgers student jumps to death after sexual encounter broadcast

[kis123]

Please explain to me how a school can be held responsible for something that as of the guys death hadn't been REPORTED TO THEM. I'm not gonna shed any tears for a dead homo but the individuals should be punished, not the school. How was the school to know the guys room mate had planted a camera? They have no way of knowing and kis by Ohio Law you're not responsible for a drug haven until someone reports it to you as such.

Sorry, Rutgers is not responsible and to say otherwise is pure liberal crap.

Yes, if it's on your property, you are responsible because it is up to you to know what is going on IN YOUR PROPERTY!

And please quote me statute and code in Ohio law that doesn't say that I'm responsible when I know of landlords in my city who have gone in front of the judge and had their property boarded up because their tenants were selling drugs. It doesn't matter if the landlord's been informed in advance or not; their property, their responsibility.

Rutgers will be held with some level of responsibility as I feel they should be. What is the point of rules and regulations on campus if there is no repsonsibility or accountability?

They can scream pure liberal crap all the way to the courtroom.

 

[Korastus]

The students responsible for filming and airing that footage deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Sadly, this is only one of many similar instances that have ended in the death of an innocent. How many more children have to die before our society grows out of this ignorant, hateful, homophobic bullshit?

 

[c7_assassin]

Please explain to me how a school can be held responsible for something that as of the guys death hadn't been REPORTED TO THEM. I'm not gonna shed any tears for a dead homo but the individuals should be punished, not the school. How was the school to know the guys room mate had planted a camera? They have no way of knowing and kis by Ohio Law you're not responsible for a drug haven until someone reports it to you as such.

Sorry, Rutgers is not responsible and to say otherwise is pure liberal crap.

It had been reported to the RA, who works for the school. The system the school put in place to protect their students broke down, either because of incompetence or homophobia, and that's why it's their responsibility.

Also, you're a miserable human being, and I hope you sire a whole troupe of gay, baton-twirling sons.

 

[Adam]

Banshee, does your stance on homosexuality include lesbian females? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[WorkInProgress]

Okay...a few thoughts from me:

1. If you disregard the fact that the young man committed suicide, the deed of secretly recording and making public a private sexual encounter is still a crime. There is enough to work with on that score without even dealing with the fact that it led to suicide.

2. Assessing the responsibility of the college is going to be a matter of legal hair-splitting which I'm sure will happen. Realistically, though, colleges are constantly trying to address the emotional and social problems going on, and to raise awareness of the wrongfulness of bullying and prejudice. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes not, but whatever they're doing, there's always more that they could or should be doing, because it is an evolutionary process. As a matter of fairness, I think that what should be looked at is whether specific college officials committed specific acts of omission or specific acts which made the problem worse, and assessment of responsibility should go from there.

3. It has nothing to do with liberal versus conservative. Nothing at all.

 

[SlaverTickler]

Wow.

But he officially complained about it to the school, and somehow nothing happened? The university is as much at fault as the guy who spied on him.

It was a guy, figures. If a female student had complained heads would have rolled, because if they didn't the media would have been all over it. When it happens to a guy only his parents care.

 

[SlaverTickler]

I'm sure I'll take heat for this but, the act of the suicide is NO ONE'S fault except the guy who killed himself. Was the filming and the airing of the footage wrong? Yes. Should they receive some sort of punishment for what they did? Absolutely! But nobody is responsible for committing a suicide except the person who does it. He CHOSE to take his own life. To me, that's a coward's way out, even under these circumstances.

Normally I would agree, however I am not a homosexual, or a teenager. I do know what it's like to be greatly embarrassed, or betrayed by people I thought I could trust. I don't know this kid situation, how do his parents feel about this lifestyle, how would the community feel about his lifestyle. The mental anguish this kid must have felt would be beyond anything anybody not in his situation could understand, and I am sure there is something under the law that they can nail these punks, and the school for.

If the people at the school had done it's job, then he wouldn't have killed himself. They didn't so he did, there for they are guilty of negligence causing death.

Another thought that occurred to me is that growing up you might have been one of this kids on the giving end, so your believe in the above comment may simply help you sleep better at night.

 

[Dussicar]

The individuals who filmed this poor guy should certainly be held responsible for invading his privacy... But he killed himself because he knew that society at large was going to mock him and pass the video and story around for years to come.

And this, after all is said and done, is the bottom line.

 

[NonConRon]

No one pushed him off the bridge, he jumped.

There is w/o question, something wrong w/anyone who does that.

What ever happened to accountability?!

Sure, he was the victim of a prank, but so were a lot of others.

I think he's getting a free pass because he's gay and therefore, a victim.

The gays need to buck up, and take it like a man. (whoops...Freudian Slip)

 

[NonConRon]

Okay...a few thoughts from me:

1. If you disregard the fact that the young man committed suicide, the deed of secretly recording and making public a private sexual encounter is still a crime. There is enough to work with on that score without even dealing with the fact that it led to suicide.

If he didn't kill himself, we wouldn't be talking about it.
Hell, we wouldn't even know about it.

 

[MrMacphisto]

You want "liberal?" I think these assholes should be jailed for

lethal cyber bullying. Also known as severe Trolling....

Seems to be real popular, worse when there's a hidden camera of course...

They know exactly what they're doing by "outing" a nice kid,

it's sheer fucking meanspirited bullying, and these are bright little bastards,
they understand very well what the repercussions are

not only broadcasting a shy young guy's sexual interaction online, maybe his first, maybe not ---

but outing him as gay too --- they were not only trying to humiliate him but they were shoving him "out"
where mere (grown adult) FOOT FETISHISTS hesitate to go,
forget GAY KIDS ---- He was still a teenager for God's sake ----- A very smart young adult, but very young ---

These assholes knew that kind of humiliation COULD drive someone to suicide.
Less bright teens could figure that much at a glance.
It's also happened too often and recently, it's been in the news just in case you're thinking maybe they weren't anticipating driving their victim off a bridge.

http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Megan_Meier

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34236377 ("Sexting" topless pics of 13 yr old girl broadcast by boy she trusted )

http://1stnews.org/404/jesse-logan/ (Another who sent nude pic to boy who spread pic all over school)

http://cyberbullying.us/blog/cyberb...en-cyberbullying-and-suicide-among-youth.html

They knew they were doing a sensitive young man very serious harm one way or another.

I don't think anyone's defending what these people did to this student, but I think it's reasonable to take a step back and ask if these people really thought this guy would kill himself as a result.

I honestly don't think they did. It doesn't excuse what they did, but it seems like certain people are treating this like the student's suicide was tantamount to premeditated murder on the part of the "outers."

 

[MrMacphisto]

Yes you are about to take some heat.

How old was this young man? 18? 19? That was his entire universe as he knew it and it had been incenerated by some callous arseholes then ignored by the very instution he and his parents paid to educate him. We've both been that young before slacker and are very lucky technology wasn't at the levels it is today because I can't guarantee you with any certainty that if the same happened to me what my outcome would've been at that age. At my age now, I am still a control freak and would be ready to kill someone if my privacy was abused in such a fashion. I'm going through a situation with my daughter right now; although the circumstances are much less severe, she's just recovering and regaining her strength; she accredits that to the family's support. This young man didn't seem to have that to lean on; makes a world of difference, especially at that age.

If the guy was in his 30s or 40s, I'd be more inclined to agree with you. But by him being so young and inexperienced in the world coupled with his inability to cope with the humiliation.....and let's not forget that he got no support from the school. The deck was just stacked way too high for someone that young.

Yes he decided to take his life, but he had plenty of help along the way and I can't completely blame him even if he did choose.

He was still an adult. Look, again, I'm very much an advocate of the right to privacy, but this is being treated like a criminal case rather than a civil one. In a rational society, this is really giving the government a lot of power -- to a degree that should be disturbing to anyone with a wary eye toward rational definitions of accountability.

 

[Banshee]

Thank You 🙂

No one pushed him off the bridge, he jumped.

There is w/o question, something wrong w/anyone who does that.

What ever happened to accountability?!

Sure, he was the victim of a prank, but so were a lot of others.

I think he's getting a free pass because he's gay and therefore, a victim.

The gays need to buck up, and take it like a man. (whoops...Freudian Slip)

You said it perfectly, the way I see it a weak link removed himself from society and now the genetic strain of the human race is stronger for it.

 

[MrMacphisto]

You said it perfectly, the way I see it a weak link removed himself from society and now the genetic strain of the human race is stronger for it.

I think both you and Ron are letting your prejudices ruin your judgment.

 

[Banshee]

Yes, if it's on your property, you are responsible because it is up to you to know what is going on IN YOUR PROPERTY!

And please quote me statute and code in Ohio law that doesn't say that I'm responsible when I know of landlords in my city who have gone in front of the judge and had their property boarded up because their tenants were selling drugs. It doesn't matter if the landlord's been informed in advance or not; their property, their responsibility.

Rutgers will be held with some level of responsibility as I feel they should be. What is the point of rules and regulations on campus if there is no repsonsibility or accountability?

They can scream pure liberal crap all the way to the courtroom.

Sorry, they needed a better lawyer, my cousin who happens to be a very good lawyer in Ohio says you're full of shit.

 

[Cosmo_ac]

You said it perfectly, the way I see it a weak link removed himself from society and now the genetic strain of the human race is stronger for it.

Wow....you and ron...just wow...

I don't think anyone's defending what these people did to this student, but I think it's reasonable to take a step back and ask if these people really thought this guy would kill himself as a result.

I honestly don't think they did. It doesn't excuse what they did, but it seems like certain people are treating this like the student's suicide was tantamount to premeditated murder on the part of the "outers."

Truth be told, i doubt very much that they thought this person would kill themself. Something that is easy to forget is that those who recorded the sex and put it up are kids too, and obviously not very smart kids.

That being said though, i really do believe that they need to start cracking down on these sorts of things. It happens too often because people know they are going to likely not be punished for it. While civil suits are possible, some people are not capable of hiring a lawyer to argue their cases.

 

[kis123]

Sorry, they needed a better lawyer, my cousin who happens to be a very good lawyer in Ohio says you're full of shit.

Tell your cousin quote the statute and code and send me a link. Wouldn't needed a lawyer at all if they did a background check and inspected the property once in awhile instead of collecting section 8 checks and let his/her slum tenants tear the neighborhood up.

Your property=your responsibility regardless whether you know or don't. It's the homeowner's/landlord's job to put proper tenants in their property. If a crime is committed, they are just as responsible as the tenants they rented to.

And you can tell him I said he can kiss grits!

 

[kis123]

He was still an adult. Look, again, I'm very much an advocate of the right to privacy, but this is being treated like a criminal case rather than a civil one. In a rational society, this is really giving the government a lot of power -- to a degree that should be disturbing to anyone with a wary eye toward rational definitions of accountability.

This is what happens when someone hasn't raised their own children to adulthood. You end up with a scewed sense of maturity that is virtually non existent in 18-19 year olds.

I never said I agreed with his choice, but do understand what it feels like to be that young, thoroughly humiliated, and not knowing if I'll ever recover. Maybe if the school would've stepped in instead of ignoring him, things would've turned out differently. But when someone's that young and feeling suicidal, there's no real telling whether they will react or respond.

Oh, and look around; the government has all the power they want and getting more everyday. Might as well use some of it to protect a teen adult in college.

 

[WorkInProgress]

Banshee and NonConRon: You absolutely appall me. I would never have expected anybody here to be this callous and cavalier about such a tragedy. One of these days you're going to know what depression is like. One of these days something is going to happen to you that causes you to see just how little you knew when you wrote what you wrote here.

 

[MrMacphisto]

Truth be told, i doubt very much that they thought this person would kill themself. Something that is easy to forget is that those who recorded the sex and put it up are kids too, and obviously not very smart kids.

That being said though, i really do believe that they need to start cracking down on these sorts of things. It happens too often because people know they are going to likely not be punished for it. While civil suits are possible, some people are not capable of hiring a lawyer to argue their cases.

Well, I'll agree that there is definitely a money side to this issue regarding legal representation.

I also would agree with making sure this sort of thing is cracked down on more.

 

[MrMacphisto]

This is what happens when someone hasn't raised their own children to adulthood. You end up with a scewed sense of maturity that is virtually non existent in 18-19 year olds.

I never said I agreed with his choice, but do understand what it feels like to be that young, thoroughly humiliated, and not knowing if I'll ever recover. Maybe if the school would've stepped in instead of ignoring him, things would've turned out differently. But when someone's that young and feeling suicidal, there's no real telling whether they will react or respond.

Oh, and look around; the government has all the power they want and getting more everyday. Might as well use some of it to protect a teen adult in college.

I would agree that a lot of people around 18 or 19 are lacking in maturity, but that's a different discussion with much wider implications about society.

Protecting people's rights is important regardless of the age of the victim, but I'm just questioning the severity of the punishment that seems to be coming the way of the offenders. 5 years of prison is pretty harsh when you consider that drunken driving deaths can lead to a shorter time in jail.

 

[kis123]

No one pushed him off the bridge, he jumped.

There is w/o question, something wrong w/anyone who does that.

What ever happened to accountability?!

Sure, he was the victim of a prank, but so were a lot of others.

I think he's getting a free pass because he's gay and therefore, a victim.

The gays need to buck up, and take it like a man. (whoops...Freudian Slip)

With all due respect, which judging by this eloquent response, is very little:

If the students didn't tape the man having sex then humiliating him with it, he wouldn't have killed himself.

If the school would've responded appropriately instead of turning their backs and offering the young man no support, then he wouldn't have killed himself.

It matters not to me whether he had sex with a woman, man, sheep or goat, he was taped without his knowledge and consent on the college campus; I hope all their heads roll over it.

And you need to acquaint yourself with what a prank is. A prank is something that everyone can laugh about when it's done. Someone shaves your head while you're sleeping off your drunk. Someone paints or TP's your dorm room. A prank is NOT secretly videotaping your roomate having sex then humiliating him with it! That's not a prank, that's a complete violation of his privacy.

Just be glad it wasn't your son (provided you even have one).

 

[kis123]

I would agree that a lot of people around 18 or 19 are lacking in maturity, but that's a different discussion with much wider implications about society.

Protecting people's rights is important regardless of the age of the victim, but I'm just questioning the severity of the punishment that seems to be coming the way of the offenders. 5 years of prison is pretty harsh when you consider that drunken driving deaths can lead to a shorter time in jail.

I personally don't care how much time they get because no matter how long it is, they'll get out of jail and can build/rebuild a life for themselves. The young man in question felt he didn't have that choice solely from their actions.

This bullying/harrassment thing has needed to be addressed for a long time; let them be the crash test dummies for all I care. Maybe some of these kids/young adults will think a few times before they bully someone else if they know they can stand in front of a judge over it.

Rutgers should consider themselves lucky they didn't have a Columbine or a Virginia Tech to deal with.

 

[Cosmo_ac]

Protecting people's rights is important regardless of the age of the victim, but I'm just questioning the severity of the punishment that seems to be coming the way of the offenders. 5 years of prison is pretty harsh when you consider that drunken driving deaths can lead to a shorter time in jail.

Truth be told Mac, my money would say that even if these two did get a five year sentence, it would probably end up being something like 18 months in jail, and the rest would be probation, because they aren't violent offenders and given the nature of their crime.

 

[MrMacphisto]

I personally don't care how much time they get because no matter how long it is, they'll get out of jail and can build/rebuild a life for themselves. The young man in question felt he didn't have that choice solely from their actions.

This bullying/harrassment thing has needed to be addressed for a long time; let them be the crash test dummies for all I care. Maybe some of these kids/young adults will think a few times before they bully someone else if they know they can stand in front of a judge over it.

Rutgers should consider themselves lucky they didn't have a Columbine or a Virginia Tech to deal with.

I think you're a little too focused on revenge.

While it is true that the offenders can rebuild their lives after the sentencing, no amount of punishment will bring back their victim.

Rationally, the best case scenario in this is that the offenders will learn from their punishment and shame, but making their punishment unreasonably long seems nothing more than vindictive.