Students, Bullying | featured news

The parents, brother and a male friend of Tyler Clementi, a gay Rutgers University student who committed suicide in 2010 after learning that his date with the friend had been secretly videotaped by his roommate, Dharun Ravi, urged a judge Monday to give Ravi prison time.

Dharun Ravi was an immature college kid who invaded his roommate's privacy. In New Jersey, that makes him a convicted felon who faces up to 10 years in prison. Locking up Ravi ultimately won't do much to stop bullying or fight homophobia.

Lawyers say the verdict in the Rutgers bias-intimidation case against Dharun Ravi was a sign that the “jerky kid” defense may no longer hold as much sway.

The guilty pleas of two students in a Massachusetts school harassment case this week thrust the spotlight back on bullying in the United States, but the issue is also drawing more attention beyond America's borders.