Anti-Gay Harassment Leads to Sucide

While browsing over the Title IX blog I came across a tragic story about a thirteen-year-old named Seth Walsh who was pushed so far to his limits after being harassed by his classmates that he committed suicide. The thirteen-year-old was an openly gay student at a high school in the Tehachapi Unified School District in California who was being repeatedly bullied by his fellow students. I found this story extremely appalling when I read that there was no attempts to protect the boy from this. Depression in teens in the United States is growing  at a staggering rate and for things to get this out of hand that death is involved brings tears to my eyes. No one should be ending their lives because of what others think and say about them and the fact that these classmates acted in this manor should not only feel terrible remorse but I believe they should be prosecuted just as the school currently is by the Office of Civil Rights. Being targeted because one doesn't fit a specific stereotype for gender and race is atrocious. The most appalling factor is how young Seth was, thirteen, image back to being thirteen and being harassed so much that the idea of killing yourself runs through your mind everyday and you eventually do it. I think it should be almost blatantly obvious to the school officials what was going on or else they're completely ignorant and possibly anti-gay themselves. Stories like these should occur but the fact that they have been brought to the surface brings attention to the fact that this same scenario could very well be taking place in numerous schools throughout our country. In the famous words of Billy Joel, "only the good die young" and that my friends, is the sad and honest truth that we must face and take action against.