You've read the story of the student at Rutgers who found out his roommate was gay, so he set up a hidden camera and invited a bunch of people to come by and watch the streaming video.
The roommate found out he was outed and committed suicide. Tragic story.
The student was found guilty and can be sentenced for up to ten years.
I often talk with Johnny X about things, and we agree that we're glad we weren't young today.
For I could certainly see how it could happen. Heck, if on football trip, Johnny X said 'Could you leave the room for about an hour, Mickey's friend Lance is coming by....', I think it could happen again.
You're a dopey kid, who probably isn't mature enough to deal with homosexuality. You've got a roommate who has never come out to you- and you find out. You get a few beers, invite your friends by and have a good laugh at his expense.
Is it immature? Yes. Is it wrong...yeah, I guess (as far as outing him without his permission- I'm not getting into the legalities of unauthorized streaming- I'm sure it breaks any number of statutes but as it's said we all unknowingly commit two felonies daily...that's not too surprising).
And of course there is the tragedy of the roommate committing suicide. But does the student deserve jail time? I would argue no. He's learned his lesson- and it wasn't done with the intent of the roommate killing himself. It was done for the joke (as poor as the joke may be).
There but the grace of the IPU goes most college students I've ever known.
-Zjabs (Rochester's Official Columnist)
© 2012 Zjabs - 4/25/12
