The story of Ravi and his roommate Tyler Clementi provide opportunity for reflection, prove need for proactive approach to campus and community safety and inclusion

Campus Pride, the nation’s leading educational organization working to make colleges and universities safer and more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, believes that the story of former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi and his now-deceased gay roommate Tyler Clementi serves as a prime example pushing the public toward greater awareness and acceptance of LGBT people.

In March, Ravi, accused of using his webcam to spy on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi during a sexual encounter with an unnamed male partner, was found guilty of several counts of invasion of privacy and guilty of several counts of bias intimidation toward Tyler Clementi, among other charges. The case attracted national attention after Clementi died by suicide in September 2010.

On Monday, a judge said Ravi's crimes were "cold, calculated and methodically conceived" and that Ravi acted out of "colossal insensitivity." Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail with a three-year probationary period to follow, including 300 community service hours, counseling on cyber-bullying and LGBT sensitivity and financial remuneration, a portion of which will be contributed to an organization that works to prevent bullying.

All colleges, their faculty, staff and students, and all communities everywhere, can heed the lessons Rutgers officials were forced to learn as tragic events unfolded on their campus. Several individuals, including campus housing staff and Ravi’s and Clementi’s hallmates, noted during the trial that they knew of the harassment faced by Clementi, but no one ever firmly stood up against it. Bystanders to bullying and harassment cannot be tolerated; we must all be up-standers as individuals and join with others to create communities of respect and civility.

“Every person has a responsibility to stand up for those who experience bullying and harassment – tragedies can be averted anytime even a single voice speaks out for the voiceless,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Bystanders – those who witness bullying or harassment and do nothing to stop it – can plead neither ignorance nor innocence. Active silence can be as damaging as active bullying and result in tragedies like Clementi’s death.”

Simple and commonsense steps could have prevented Clementi’s suicide. Since his death, Rutgers University has made several steps in bridging the gap between their LGBT students’ needs and the campus’ offered services, but too many colleges refuse to see the consequences of inaction and remain unsafe for LGBT students.

Of more than 4,000 colleges and universities across the U.S., less than 10 percent have opted to voluntarily assess their campus’ policies and practices using the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.campusprideindex.org). Less than seven percent of schools offer institutional support to LGBT students, such as an LGBT student center or programs director. Only 13 percent offer non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and just six percent protect students on the basis of gender identity. Only one school, Illinois’ Elmhurst College, asks students demographic questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on its admissions application.

Campus Pride calls on all colleges and universities to take steps now to fully include LGBT students on their campuses and to create safer, more welcoming environments where LGBT students can grow in their academic careers. Programs and policy implementation – such as anti-discrimination policies, safe and inclusive student conduct codes, gender-neutral housing, LGBT living-learning communities, hate-crime and bias-motivated incident response and LGBT-inclusive healthcare – are not optional.

“University administrators, faculty, campus housing staff and other trained professionals are paid to teach and to keep students safe,” said Windmeyer. “When professionals fail to do their jobs, students are unable to do theirs – to learn and to grow academically – and tragic incidents of suicide, hazing and bias-motivated violence became an all-too-real possibility. No student should ever live in fear for their own safety or struggle to be comfortable with themselves in the face of harassment.”