It started out as a harmless prank that became an invasion of privacy and deadly, anti-gay harassment. Tyler Clementi, an eighteen year-old Rutgers freshman, asked his roommate, Dharun Ravi, for some privacy in the room they shared. Ravi complied by killing time with Molly Wei down the hall, where they used her computer to log onto Skype and access his own webcam back in his and Clementi’s room. Whether by accident or on purpose, they allegedly caught Clementi and another male in what authorities called a “sexual encounter.”

And what did Ravi do with that information? The same thing all students living and connecting in the 21st century do when we’ve got something to share (be it a great new product or annoying things our roommates say): he Tweeted. The video he captured was also streamed live online, and Ravi and Wei repeated the ritual to try and catch Tyler in the act again a few nights later. The video spread fast, as the most scandalous often do, and the public revelation of Clementi’s secret sexual orientation ultimately drove him to jump off the George Washington bridge.

This story is disturbing on two very serious levels. First, Tyler Clementi is the third male within a month that has taken his own life as a result of anti-gay harassment. It is a sad reminder that although the 21st century has brought its share of liberation for the gay community, there are still a number of battles left in this war against homophobia (including the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell debate). A war which clearly has tragic consequences.

Second, Clementi is an innocent victim of cyber bullying, a form of harassment that includes everything from direct and intentional pestering online to being blasted on someone else’s Facebook wall. We all know the positive points of social networking very well: the ease of staying in touch, the ability to video chat with friends in other countries without pay, and spread good news to everyone you care about with a single 140-character update. But technology has also made it way too easy to give anyone a hard time, encouraged and accessible behind the falsely secure mask of a computer screen. And now that everyone – including professors, parents and potential employers – is active in the online community, every click has its consequences.

For Tyler, it was an untimely death.
For his bullies, it is four counts of invasion of privacy (one in particular carries a maximum sentence of five years), and, for Ravi, $25,000 bail.

Today – whether you knew him or not, whether you’re wearing black or not – let Tyler’s tragic ending be a reminder to us all of the importance of human decency and the frightening power of the Internet.

Judging by stories from friends and colleagues, I know I'm not the only one who's done something stupid in the name of free, resume-building labor. When CollegeCandy put out a request for a Secret Intern to write an Internship Diary, we got some truly cringe-inducing stories, but "Elisa's" experience trumped all.

Currently, "Elisa" is interning for a big, flashy 5th Avenue designer. Sounds awesome, right? Well...read on.]

“What are you doing this summer?”

“I’m a marketing intern for a designer on 5th ave.”

“No way!! You’re so lucky.”

Yup. That was me. The “lucky” one. Little did I know I was in for a whole different ride.

I enjoyed my life as a finance/journalism student at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, but I recently got accepted into NYU Stern. So, I thought I needed to actually do something that had the word “internship” in it. I knew I would eventually want to work in the city, so this just seemed like the right start, without being too boring.

In search of a last minute internship, I turned to seventeen.com, and lo and behold, there were still positions open! Everyone always said that internships in the city are a good opportunity, so I applied for a marketing internship with this big Designer. I had a phone interview, and in 2 days, my boss called me back to tell me I had received the position. Ecstatic, I was jumping around telling everyone about my amazing internship in the city. However, after I received the position, I realized it wasn’t paid. Well, there has to be some type of perks, right? WRONG.

I wanted the internship to make me into a flashy fashionista in the city, but my dreams were soon crushed.

The morning of my first day, I eagerly got off at Port Authority and made my trek to 5th Ave. I entered the pristine store of The Designer, and nervously walked down the steps to my workplace. Everyone was friendly and so well dressed; I felt instantly drabby.

But wait, it gets better. What was my first task? To count bottles. Lots and lots of bottles in lots and lots of boxes. To make things worse, The Designer had recently decided to repaint her store, and the fumes were driving everyone crazy.

It was inventory week, of course, so I spent my whole day, 10-6, counting stupid bottles and bottle parts. Oh, and I didn’t even get to see the designer…LAME.

Man, if this was what I have to do to live a fancy, well dressed corporate life in New York, I don’t know if I can make it.

[Stay tuned for next week's installment of CC's Secret Intern Diaries]

Or you could just use the power you have to break into people’s dorms and steal computers.

That’s what 23 year old Christa Olandria, Senior Class President of Livingston College at Rutgers University did. Olandria was arrested last Monday on burglary charges, and is suspect in seven other burglaries that have plagued the campus since September.

She was caught standing outside a dorm room (which she, as an RA, had keys for) as an accomplice stuffed “a laptop computer, a digital camera, a wallet and an iPod case into a duffel bag”.

Senior Class Idiot Olandria, who was also previously voted “Ms. R.U.” by the school, may be denied her diploma come this year’s graduation.

The stupidity of this girl’s actions boggles my little mind. Why do something that stupid when you’ve got your collegiate world on a string? Why commit a crime this close to graduation? The only answer I’ll accept is that she was a Kleptomaniac. Any other excuse will not be tolerated by my ears.

What do you think? Should the chick have her diploma taken away, or is jail/parole a big enough embarrassment? Do we even care what happens to a person this stupid?