Thursday, October 21, 2010

MICHIGAN -- Bullying or not? Motive behind gay Oakland University sophomore's suicide debated – by Aaron Foley, October 21, 2010 – Detroit News | MLive.com


The news of a suicide at Oakland University has gone viral among LBGT blogs and news sources as the gay teen's death comes during a string of gay teen suicides and a high-profile campaign encouraging support for those in need.

19-year-old Corey Jackson, a sophomore at OU, was found dead on Tuesday. OU campus police say there is no evidence of bullying. The recent wave of gay or perceived-to-be-gay teen suicides, however, have been linked to bullying or taunting -- which would make Jackson's death an exception.

…Jackson's grandmother, Carolyn Evans, told WDIV that Jackson had recently come out and his demeanor had changed.

"I believe (it happened) because he recently realized he was a homosexual and he was getting pressured at school by his peers because he told his family and nothing changed here," Evans told the TV station.

Melissa Pope, director of OU's Gender and Sexuality Center, tells Michigan Messenger that whether the teens are "bullied" isn't the issue -- but mainly the shared commonality that they're all gay...
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