Point Foundation Creates Clementi Scholarship

The Point Foundation has created a college scholarship in memory of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University student who took his own life last year because of antigay bullying on campus.

According to a news release from the Point Foundation, "The Tyler Clementi Point Scholarship was created with the cooperation of Clementi's parents, Joe and Jane, to honor his memory and further the efforts to end the bullying that many LGBT youth face within educational environments. The organization has set aside funds for the scholarship, while allowing the public and current Point supporters to donate in Clementi's name online at www.pointfoundation.org or by calling 866-33-POINT (76468)."

Clementi's parents made remarks in the Point Foundation news release.

"Our son Tyler was a kind and gentle young man who enjoyed helping people," said Joe and Jane Clementi. "This scholarship will help college students and it will raise awareness of young people who are subject to abuse through malicious bullying -- and so it will help people in Tyler's memory. We are happy to be supportive of Point Foundation and we thank them for establishing this scholarship."

Point scholarships cover tuition, room and board, supplies, and other services needed by deserving LGBT students, who also receive skills training and mentoring from a network of professionals. Since 2000, more than 160 individuals students have been assisted with more than $5.3 million in support for their education.

Clementi, a talented violinist in his freshman year at the New Jersey university, jumped off the George Washington Bridge in September after his roommate, Dharun Ravi, secretly filmed his intimate encounter with another young man in a dorm room and claimed to have broadcast the footage on the Internet with another student, Molly Wei. The high-profile tragedy sparked a national conversation about antigay bullying.

Lawyers for Ravi and Wei, who were charged with invasion of privacy, contend their clients are not guilty of any crime. The students have since withdrawn from Rutgers.