[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 49 (Thursday, March 27, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1820-S1821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
        Casey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Franken, and Mr. 
        Merkley):
  S. 2164. A bill to prevent harassment at institutions of higher 
education, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as many in this Chamber know, I am very 
proud of the many ways my home State of Washington is leading the way. 
Our State is an economic leader. We are home to the American aerospace 
industry, we have a thriving agricultural sector, and dozens of 
companies creating new products and new jobs with cutting-edge 
technology. We are a leader in protecting the environment and educating 
our children. Washington State is also the place that tens of thousands 
of servicemembers and veterans call home.
  Last, but not least, I could not be more proud of our State's history 
of protecting the rights of all of our citizens, including members of 
the LGBT community. We know in Washington State that it is wrong to 
discriminate against people. We know that a person's race, religion, or 
gender have nothing to do with their worth as a human being, and we 
know that actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity 
don't either. We get that in my home State of Washington, but we can't 
stop working until the same is true in all 50 States, and that is why I 
have come to the Senate floor today.
  I want to share with everyone a story about a young man by the name 
of Kris. Kris will be the first to tell you he has not led the easiest 
of lives. After turning 18 years old and aging out of the foster care 
system in Texas, Kris found himself homeless at 18 years old in Houston 
and sleeping on whatever park bench or apartment roof was available to 
him that evening.
  As luck would have it, one night while Kris was searching for a 
public restroom to use, he stumbled on an admissions fair for the 
University of Houston's downtown campus. Kris had always had ambitions 
to go to college, but because of his very unstable childhood and 
minimal income, pursuing higher education was never a priority. Once he 
learned that night that tuition for the school was waived for foster 
system alumni, this dream seemed more like a reality so Kris decided to 
enroll.
  He went to school, declared his major in social work, and settled 
into college life. He made friends and participated in extracurricular 
activities on campus.
  In fact, Kris got so involved that one of his good friends, Isaac, 
invited him to be his running mate for the upcoming student government 
election. Kris was very excited about that idea and realized it was his 
opportunity to make a real difference for many of the students on 
campus who had been through some of the same trying experiences he had.
  Kris and Isaac kicked off their campaign and pursued elective office. 
Then 1 day--in fact 1 year ago this month--Kris was called into the 
dean of students office. Kris sat down and the dean reached into his 
briefcase and pulled out a stack of fliers with Kris's photo on each 
and every one of them with a big X across his picture. In big, bold 
letters across the top of the flier, it read: ``WANT AIDS?'' Across the 
bottom of that flier it read: ``Don't Support the Isaac and Kris 
Homosexual Agenda.'' On the back of the flier--unbelievably--was a copy 
of Kris's official

[[Page S1821]]

private medical record displaying in plain view that Kris was HIV 
positive. Stunning. I am sure every one of you are as stunned as I was.
  The dean then informed Kris that these had been found all over the 
campus. As if the situation couldn't get any worse, the dean told Kris 
that there is nothing the university or the administration could do 
about it--nothing.
  At one point Kris said the administration even accused him of being 
responsible for these acts. Kris was told the administration's sole 
responsibility was to simply inform him this was going on and nothing 
more. They just had to make sure he knew about it.
  Kris was told that words such as homosexual or AIDS were proper 
terms, protected speech, and not grounds for punishment.
  As you can imagine, Kris was devastated. He didn't attend class for 
weeks after that. His friends, family, and loved ones started to 
seriously worry about his well-being.
  In the meantime, the word of this and Kris's status as HIV positive, 
as you can imagine, spread like wildfire across the campus. While Kris 
had been out to a small group of friends, there was no going back once 
the local paper picked up on the story which eventually circulated in 
the national media.
  Thankfully, there is a happy ending to this heartbreaking story. In 
yet another example of how the younger generation in our country is 
swiftly helping to turn the tide against intolerance, Kris and Isaac 
won that election, and Kris served a term as the student body vice 
president. Kris has now moved on to serve in a different but somewhat 
similar capacity, and that is as a congressional intern here in my 
office in Washington, DC. I am proud to say that Kris is here with us 
on the floor today. And just like the fate he found that one night in 
search of a public restroom, Kris now has another chance to be part of 
a life-changing experience because today I have come to the floor to 
reintroduce the Tyler Clemente Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 
2014.
  As many of you may remember, this legislation is named after Tyler 
Clemente. He was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University. Back in 
2010, without his knowledge, Tyler's roommate streamed video footage on 
the Internet of Tyler in his dorm room being intimate with another 
male. After his roommate and another student invaded his privacy in 
such a serious way and continued to harass him over the Internet, Tyler 
leapt off the George Washington Bridge and sadly took his own life.
  When I sat down and spoke with Kris about this recently, he told me 
how his story was very close to ending just like Tyler's story. He 
didn't have anyone on campus to turn to. Since the administration said 
they were unable to do anything about this hate crime, Kris felt he had 
no opportunity for closure.
  Kris told me:

       For most young people, when things like that happen, we 
     have got to have people who are going to be proactive in 
     helping them. And not someone telling them there's nothing we 
     can do to help you.

  Quite shockingly, despite statistics telling us that LGBT students 
are nearly twice as likely to experience harassment when compared to 
their heterosexual peers, there is no Federal requirement that colleges 
and universities have policies to protect their students from 
harassment.
  That is why I feel so strongly about this legislation.
  The legislation I am introducing will require colleges and 
universities that receive Federal aid to establish anti-harassment 
policies for students no matter who they are or what they identify 
with, and they will be required to have the language of those policies 
easily accessible. It will recognize cyber bullying of all kinds as 
serious means of harassment. Finally, the Tyler Clementi act authorizes 
competitive grants for schools to initiate or expand programs to 
prevent these kinds of things from happening, to provide counseling for 
victims of the accused, and to train everyone on campus about how to 
prevent this in the future.
  When I was back home last week in Spokane, I told Kris's story, just 
as I did today, and talked about the desperate need for these kinds of 
protections. I am sure, as with many of those listening, most of my 
constituents were pretty surprised to learn these policies aren't 
already in place at all of our institutions of higher learning. I 
couldn't agree more. Why aren't colleges and universities across our 
country all being proactive in establishing these programs and points 
of contact for students such as Tyler or Kris who have experienced or 
could experience such a life-changing event?
  While many schools currently have successful prevention and 
counseling programs in place, students shouldn't have to take their 
health and safety into account when they decide where they are going to 
study in this country.
  Kris recounted for me how each day during this horrible experience he 
would awaken, and there were 5 or 6 seconds where he would feel normal 
again, as if nothing had happened. But then reality would set in, and 
it felt as though a ton of bricks had fallen on top of him. Fortunately 
for Kris, he was able to lean on the campus LGBT community for support 
during this very trying time. But he said:

       If I hadn't reached out to the community, I probably 
     wouldn't be here today. Every day going to school felt like a 
     battlefield.

  Unfortunately, there are others similar to Kris who don't have that 
point of contact on campus--a supportive parent or a tight-knit group 
of friends who help them get through these kinds of experiences.
  I am very proud to be here today, with the support of my outstanding 
cosponsor, Senator Baldwin, to take a major step to change this.
  I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to pay tribute to my 
friend Senator Frank Lautenberg and his staff for their tireless work 
to craft this original bill which serves as a tremendous honor to the 
life of Tyler Clementi. No student, whether they are gay or straight or 
Black or White or Christian or Muslim, should have to face 
discrimination and harassment in pursuit of their education. While I 
know it is impossible to eradicate all bad behavior from our society, 
we have to arm our campuses with the tools and resources necessary to 
not only efficiently and effectively support the victims but also to 
take action against those who have perpetrated such senseless crimes.
  That is why I am here today. I am very proud to introduce this 
legislation.
  I wish to thank Kris for his courage in speaking out and his ability 
to be here today to make sure no other student in our country ever has 
to go through what he did.
                                 ______