Suicide is the second leading cause of teenage death in the United States. Although one does not see every individual case on the news, a recent trend of gay teenagers committing suicide has become apparent. During this fall alone, at least five gay students have lost their lives to their own hands. Seth Walsh, a thirteen year old from California, hanged himself in his back yard in September. Billy Lucas, who also hanged himself, was a fifteen year old from Indiana. Asher Brown, a thirteen year old from Houston, shot himself after being taunted viciously when he came out as gay. And a Rutgers University freshman, Tyler Clementi, jumped off of the George Washington Bridge after being filmed having an intimate encounter with another man in his dorm room. These suicides are just a few of the many that have occurred in the past month.

Clementi’s roommate Dharun Ravi, and with classmate Molly Wei, were responsible for filming and broadcasting the encounter. Filmed from Wei’s dorm room, Ravi posted on his twitter account, encouraging his followers to watch the film of the encounter. Clementi was aware of Ravi’s actions, and explored several solutions, including asking Ravi to take the film down. Clementi even asked for help on a gay support forum, and it was not apparent that suicide was even in Clementi’s mind. Just seventy-two hours after the original broadcasting of the encounter, a Facebook posting by Clementi stating, “jumping off the gw bridge sorry” proved otherwise. His possessions were found on the George Washington Bridge less than an hour after his statement, and his body was found soon after.

Although Wei and Ravi’s actions may have just been a college prank, and not a hate crime, they have been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy each. The New Jersey gay rights association Garden State Equality has pinned Clementi’s death down as an outright hate crime, although friends of these students have stated that they are open-minded individuals, and in no way homophobic. They each face a maximum sentence of five years, according to the New York Times. It remains to be seen however, if these sentences will be carried out. Meanwhile, Rutgers University has constructed a memorial to honor Tyler Clementi.

Clementi’s case brought to attention the fact that many homosexual teenagers face severe abuse from classmates and teachers. Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas, and Asher Brown, were all tormented and bullied by their peers and subsequently killed themselves. Clementi’s death has alerted the nation of the plight of gay teenagers across America. Even the (liberal) Jewish and Christian communities are speaking up in favor of support and are holding events to raise awareness, such as celebrating National Coming Out Day. A channel on the popular website Youtube, called It Gets Better, has been created to let teenagers know that life in high school—no matter how bad—doesn’t have to be the end.  Celebrities, politicians, students, and citizens around the country, post videos of support, encouraging gay students to hold on.

The deaths of these students serve as a reminder to the world about the trauma bullying can inflict on all people, not just those of a homosexual orientation.