People across the country have expressed condolences and are seeking ways to take action after the death of Tyler Clementi, who was painfully harassed by his fellow students at Rutgers University. The Rutgers community gathered to honor Tyler in a series of events across campus all week, including a silent vigil and a town hall meeting on bullying. The tragedy comes just as Rutgers is beginning Project Civility, a new university-wide initiative to foster respect on campus.
This week, CNN's Anderson Cooper hosted "Stop Bullying: Speak Up," a series of programs about bullying. One of the guests on Thursday's program raised the seduction of "humiliation as entertainment" on reality TV. Are young people simply using Facebook and other social media to replicate what they see on TV each night? Kudos to the CNN team for surfacing these issues. The solutions may come from parents and teachers -- but most of all, they come from young people who feel supported enough to stand up to their peers.
In response to the rash of recent youth suicides, two new suicide prevention video projects have emerged. The Gay Straight Alliance has started the Make It Better Project, which includes a website and YouTube channel where students and adults can upload video messages to share what they're doing to prevent suicide and make things better for LGBT youth in schools. Here is one of the user-generated videos from the project:
Hundreds of LGBT adults have also posted their stories to advice columnist Dan Savage's "It Gets Better," a YouTube channel created to bolster young people who are feeling vulnerable in school.
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