Although not directly talked about in class, the article about the gay student who killed himself after his roommate posted a video of him having sex with a man is a tragedy and an appropriate discussion point for race, gender and the media.
For many years, homosexuality was considered a disease, a birth defect. Gays were scoffed and harassed and were routinely beaten and embarrassed for being homosexuals. But this was years ago. I'm shocked that people have not come to terms and accepted homosexuals for who they are. They don't have to agree with their lifestyle or support their decisions but they should respect them as a human beings. Our country has advanced a long way since believing homosexuality was a disease (gay rights and awareness groups are everywhere and proposition 8 recognizing gay marriages in California was passed), and while I admit that homosexuals are still not treated completely normal in the US, they are people and citizens first and foremost and nobody deserves to be publicly humiliated for being who they are.

Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who killed himself, had every right to be with whom he wanted. His roommate was cruel to publicly humiliate him by taping him with another man. People have a right to their privacy. What's even more interesting is that private postings Clementi posted to gay forums about the inceident are now being released after his death. Do you loose all privacy rights after you die? I still believe the Clementi family is entitled to privacy and those statements should remain private. The general public does not need to know what he was saying on private forums. With the way media and gossip blogs are today though, privacy has become a luxury few can afford.