18 year old Rutgers student Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from George Washington Bridge, in another case of homophobia and cyber voyeurism claiming a young life. Clementi was devastated after Dharun Ravi, fellow-student and dorm roomie, along with Molly Wei, 18, uploaded a candid camera video of Clementi’s sexual encounter with another guy.

The death has raised alarm bells about ethics in a virtual world where photography, media seer Marshall McLuhan has said, meant a “brothel-without-walls” with no regard for questions of privacy infringement. A spate of troubling reports about gay teen bullying have queer rights activists and parents up in arms, with the toll in young lives lost rising.

The body count due to gay teen bullying is shockingly high, with five traumatized kids taking their lives this month itself. New Jersey City University and the Hudson Pride Connections Center, in a gesture of protest and empathy, held a candlelight vigil for Tyler Clementi before the NJCU’s Guarini Library. Ray Velazquez Jr., who happens to be Jersey City’s first council member to come out of the closet, said that the parent and student community need to fight the homophobia malaise. To band together to ensure tolerance so that our youth is safe, was the message Velazquez gave in a statement made to the press

Outrage is understandably widespread, with some people saying the two culprits should be charged with murder. Ellen DeGeneres, hosting her chat show, spoke out against gay teen bullying and made a rousing appeal for action.