Democrats reintroduce anti-harassment legislation for colleges

Democrats on Friday reintroduced legislation that would require colleges receiving federal funding to establish policies that protect enrolled students from harassment based on six protected classes, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act, named for the 18-year-old Rutgers student who died by suicide in 2010, would direct colleges to distribute their anti-harassment policy to current and prospective students and employees. It would also mandate that cyberbullying be recognized as harassment.

Clementi, who was openly gay, died after his roommate and another student used a webcam to film Clementi without his knowledge. Friday marks the 13th anniversary of Clementi’s death, which brought national attention to cyberbullying.

Former New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) introduced the first iteration of the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act in 2011.

“While there is no way to completely eliminate the cruelty that some students choose to inflict on their peers, there should be a clear code of conduct at all universities to prohibit harassment,” Lautenberg, who died in 2013, said at the time.

The bill introduced Friday, like Lautenberg’s original bill, would establish a grant program for colleges to “initiate, expand, or improve” programs that prevent the harassment of enrolled students.

Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) are sponsoring the measure in the Senate, and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chairman of the Congressional Equality Caucus, is sponsoring the bill in the House. It has been endorsed by several groups, including the Tyler Clementi Foundation, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and The Trevor Project.

“No one should live in fear of being bullied just because of who they are, especially in our schools,” said Baldwin, who in 2012 became the first openly gay person elected to the Senate. “In the face of increased harassment and discrimination, particularly against members of the LGBTQ+ community, our legislation makes crystal clear that kind of hate has no place on our college campuses or universities.”

Nearly a third of LGBTQ people in a 2022 Williams Institute survey said they had experienced bullying, harassment or assault as college students, compared with 19 percent of non-LGBTQ people surveyed. More than 12 percent of LGBTQ respondents said they had experienced online or other indirect bullying or harassment.