In the last month, there have been a rash of suicides committed by those ridiculed for “coming out” with their homosexuality.

On Sept. 9, 2010, Billy Lucas, of Greensburg, Ind., hung himself in his grandmother’s barn after being constantly called a “fag” by classmates.

On Sept. 13, 2010, Cody Barker, of Shiocton, Wis., took his own life after being bullied at school for being gay.

On Sept. 19, 2010, Seth Walsh, of Tehachapi, Calif., hung himself from a tree in his backyard after suffering years of relentless torment about his sexual orientation.

On Sept. 23, 2010, Asher Brown, of Houston, Texas, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after years of harassment by fellow students about his religion and sexual orientation.

On Sept. 24, 2010, Justin Lacy, of Eureka Calif., formerly of Clovis, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after coming out about his sexual orientation.

On Sept. 25, 2010, Harrison Chase Brown, of Rand, Colo., killed himself after being bullied.

On Sept. 30, 2010, Caleb Nolt, of Fort Wayne, Ind., committed suicide after enduring severe bullying at school related to his perceived sexual orientation.

However, it’s the suicide of a Rutgers University freshman that has drawn national attention.

On Sept. 22, 2010, Tyler Clementi jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River after his roommate and classmate streamed footage of him hooking up with another man on the Internet.

The roommate, Dharun Ravi and classmate, Molly Wei used a webcam to capture Ravi’s roommate having sex with a guy””while simultaneously posting messages on Twitter.

On Sept. 19, 2010, Ravi tweeted, “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into Molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”

On Sept. 21, 2010, Clementi asked for the room again.

That night, Ravi tweeted, “Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it’s happening again.”

On Sept. 22, 2010, Clementi posted on his Facebook wall, “Jumping off the GW bridge sorry.”

New Jersey prosecutors charged Ravi with four counts of invasion of privacy for using a camera to view and transmit live feed. Wei has been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy.

If Ravi and Wei are convicted on these charges they could face up to five years in prison each.

Although the word “privacy” is never used in the United States Constitution, it is protected under modern tort law. Modern tort law includes four elements of invasion of privacy: “Physical or electronic intrusion into one’s private quarters, public disclosure of private facts, publication of facts which place a person in a false light and the unauthorized use of a persons name or likeness to obtain some benefits.”

New Jersey prosecutors have considered pressing separate hate-crime charges. If Ravi and Wei are convicted of both charges they could face up to 10 years in prison each.

On Oct. 7, 2010, Campus Pride, a national nonprofit organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender student leaders and campus groups, called for the expulsion of the accused for violating the Rutgers University Code of Student Conduct.

The university’s code of conduct prohibits “making or attempting to make an audio or video recording of any person(s) on University premises in bathrooms, showers, bedrooms, or other premises where there is an expectation of privacy with respect to nudity and/or sexual activity, without the knowledge and consent of all participants subject to such recordings.”

There are many divergent views on The Collegian’s editorial board surrounding homosexuality, but we are all in agreement that bullying and violating any citizen’s right to privacy is wrong. Ravi and Wei violated all four Modern Tort Law elements and should be convicted with the maximum sentence of five years each for invasion of privacy. Revi and Wei also violated the Rutgers University Code of Conduct and should be expelled upon conviction.

While Ravi and Wei did not cause Clementi’s death, their actions broke the law and the ethics of basic decency and respect. They deserve the maximum punishment for their crime.