This article originally appeared on page 3 of issue #5 of The Campus Ledger, published on Oct. 21. Contact Phillip Wolff, reporting correspondent, at fwolffiv@jccc.edu.

A sudden ferocity in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has arisen from the recent suicides of six gay teens made victims of bullying. Along with National Coming Out Day (NCOD) on Oct. 11 and the unfathomable gang-torture of two 17-year-old boys and one 30-year-old man in the Bronx, the LGBT community is ready to be heard.

Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, 18, fell victim to privacy invasion when his roommate set up a live web-feed showing Clementi having a homosexual encounter. Clementi posted a brief Facebook goodbye, then jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge. Thirteen-year-old Asher Brown shot himself in the head in September, and his family believes it was also due to bullying.

“Because the climate of the nation is becoming more accepting, we’re seeing it more as a bad thing that these kids are committing suicide,” said CJ Edwards, transgendered male and president of Queers and Allies, an LGBT support group on campus.

“People have a name and a face and a soul to attach to these issues, and the minute that happens, it’s harder to hate, because these are actually people, not just words,” he said. “The less hatred we encounter and the less hatred there is on campus, the more acceptance there will be. Acceptance follows.”

Anti-bullying campaigns are beginning to teach against homophobia and LGBT hate speech in their curriculums on campuses across the nation.

To raise awareness and support, Edwards has been putting together “Speak Out!” panels on campus. The panels bring discussion of LGBT culture and issues directly to students in a candid and cordial manner.

“We go into classrooms as LGBT and allied people and open up our lives,” Edwards said. “The classroom gets to ask us any question they want. I think because of what we’re doing on campus, there’s a lot more understanding.”

The “It Gets Better” Project, which reaches out to LGBT teens facing difficulties or feeling alone, has gained popularity on the Internet, with many public and political figures becoming involved.

Those who joined the movement include President Barack Obama, Elton John, Ellen Degeneres and Glenn Beck. Perez Hilton also pledged to end the cheap shots and bullying of others which made him so famous.

However, with action comes antagonism. Focus on the Family, an influential Evangelical group, claims anti-bullying campaigns advance the “gay agenda.” Discredited psychologist and sex expert Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute, has also supported extermination of gays and called AIDS a “godsend,” according to www.wiredstrategies.com. Kansas pastor Fred Phelps and his church have been prominent in the news for their strong stand against gay rights, including the display of signs reading “God hates fags.”

The LGBT community still faces a tough road ahead.

“I think we’re met more with fascination and questions, rather than something that’s loathed or feared,” said student Keshia Davis, lesbian and member of Queers and Allies. “It’s something that’s intriguing for people. I think that makes a big difference.”

Davis said many people don’t realize she is lesbian when they first meet her, and it changes their perspective when they find out.

Carmaletta Williams, executive director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), which works closely with Queers and Allies, said the mission of ODEI is to transform the campus climate into one of acceptance, respect and knowledge.

“We let people tell their own stories so that we and our students can learn and be informed,” Williams said according to ODEI literature.

Jerome Toliver, student and member of Queers and Allies, is currently one of the club’s straight male members.

“I got involved, because in middle school I was called gay,” Toliver said. “I remember thinking, ‘I’m getting treated like this and I’m not even gay. This isn’t right.’”

Toliver, who is African-American, is no stranger to discrimination.

“This is no different than racism, in my opinion,” he said. “I know who I am. If anyone calls me gay, I ask, ‘Does it matter?’”

Edwards believes the college has been a welcoming environment for him as well as other LGBT members.

“I’ve never been scared on this campus of who I am,” he said. “We have a lot of support from the administration. The only reason that we can be who we are on campus and in this world is because of our straight allies. If we don’t have our allies, then we can’t be safe and we can’t be comfortable.”