Students express mixed views on tragedy coverage
With the nation captured by the recent death of University first-year student Tyler Clementi, students here voiced their opinions on the intense media coverage on campus.
While some said the media coverage was necessary, others believe the media sensationalized the story.
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Chelsea Stahl said the media needed to cover Clementi's death extensively because there is a problem with homophobia in the nation.
"A lot of people all over the country are killing themselves for being gay because they are being tormented," she said. "I think by the media shedding light on it, it will show the problem and hopefully people will be less inclined to do so."
Lindsey Waxman, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, agreed with Stahl, saying the national media did a good job of covering the tragic event. But she did not feel the same about the reaction within the University.
"I think they should probably put more of a focus within Rutgers that we're not seeing just because it is a big thing," she said. "I don't think any of the activities they are doing is really helpful as much as making sure everybody knows what happened and how it could have been prevented."
School of Arts and Sciences senior Jake Witkowski said although the media did cover the death too much at first, they redeemed themselves by providing proof that there was a problem across the country by covering other similar situations.
"They quickly found a greater number of the same incidents of which they were able to buttress it with and make it a legitimate national story," he said. "They jumped the shark but then they got back."
But some students did not agree with the media coverage of Clementi's death at all.
Katelynn Maier, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said the media covered the death so extensively that her grandfather in Eastern Pennsylvania knew the story. She believes the media sensationalized Clementi's suicide but ignores other such deaths on a regular basis.
"I don't want to sound rude but these things happen. There are teenagers committing suicide every single day," she said. "Every 18 minutes, someone commits suicide in the United States and I just think that sometimes, the media just completely overdoes it."
Maier said she was affected personally by a suicide in her family and is aware of the impact it can have on a family.
"When I was 11, my cousin committed suicide and for instance with him, nothing, no media coverage," she said. "I think it is just the fact that he is a college student and that happened."
School of Arts and Sciences senior Rob Cavella said the media combined the death of Clementi with the alleged actions of School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Dharun Ravi and Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy first-year student Molly Wei, who allegedly set a webcam on Clementi without his knowledge. He believes they should be examined separately.
"People think the events should be held in two different lights instead of being one big thing. People I know think that what [Ravi and Wei] did isn't as awful as what happened afterward, which turned into something more awful," he said.
Maria Allen, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said the media sometimes takes advantage of anything — even a young man's death.
"[The media] almost always have an agenda. So I doubt that they actually cared that this boy died and that these two [students] are suffering the consequences for it," she said. "It was more politicized and they used it for their own purposes."
She added that the University is a diverse and accepting community, but the media shaped an image of the student community as homophobic.
Some students also think the media emphasized the wrong part of the story, focusing on Clementi's sexuality rather than his right to privacy.
"They didn't address the actual issue of privacy enough because that's the main thing that has people outraged," Philip Ankrah, an Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy first-year student, said. "That's what I was mad about because his privacy wasn't safe on campus. What is Rutgers going to do about my personal space?"
Likewise, School of Arts and Sciences sophomore William Enloe said the media turned the situation into a story about gay abuse instead of invasion of privacy.
"When I read it in an article, they said something about gay abuse. If you are being abused, it happens over a period of time," he said. "What happened here was invasion of privacy and invasion of an individual's privacy is a very strong thing."
Other students said they are tired of the constant media coverage, which is interfering with their studies.
Eric Idelson, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said the media coverage is too much.
"I don't like it because three weeks later, we are still reading about it. Yeah, it sucks but it's done and over with," he said. "[Let's] move on with our lives and find something else to talk about, but it's still in the media."
