1. Do you think the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Act should be enacted? Explain.
2. Co-sponsors of the bill, New Jersey senator Frank Lautenberg and New Jersey representative Rush D. Holt, pointed to the actions and subsequent firing in 2013 of Mike Rice, head basketball coach at Rutgers University, as proof of the need for such antibullying legislation. Rice was videotaped making slurs regarding sexual orientation to players and engaging in other harassing conduct. Do you agree? Explain.
3. Although he was not charged with causing Clementi’s death, Ravi was facing a possible 10 years in state prison. Do you think Ravi’s actual sentence was fair or too light? Explain.
Americans differ dramatically in their views of the role the law should play in contemporary life. For some, the courts and the police primarily act as obstructions to personal freedom and to a fully efficient marketplace. Others seek much more law to ensure that everyone who is in need is cared for and everyone is sheltered from wrongdoers. Although we may argue about the law’s precise path in our lives, most of us can agree on some foundational expectations for a fair, efficient legal system.