Tyler Clementi’s suicide, following a video posted online involving him in a sexual encounter with another, has garnered a lot of attention. And it would be a tragic enough if it was an isolated incident. But it is not.            Clementi is one of five teenagers who have recently committed suicide following being taunted for his sexuality. Clementi was just 18 years old, and was actually the oldest amongst that recent group. The other four were either 13 or 15. All of them were far too young to have ended their lives.            It appears that all of these horrific events may finally lead to the issue of bullying being looked at more thoroughly. But should it have even really gotten to this point?            It should come as no surprise that bullying goes on around schools throughout the country. Everyone knows that, and so many people have been subjected to bullying over the years. Children or teenagers can be bullied for just about any reason, and it should also come as no surprise that being gay would be one of them.            And yet, only now is it becoming an issue that is being looked at very seriously. It is a shame, but now the attention must be turned to making sure that we do no see more stories of anyone, gay or otherwise, committing suicide because they were attacked for who they were.            It is extremely important that we all become more vigilant to the bullying that continues to go on around us. These five gay teenagers are far from the only ones that have been persecuted. Countless others go to school every day and feel similar ridicule. Most of them will probably not commit suicide, but they will suffer greatly.            And although there is certainly a major issue with gay teenagers committing suicide, the focus cannot only be on that. Young people are being bullied for so many reasons, and all of it can be immensely damaging.            A major part of this solution has to be the schools. In a perfect world, those who are being bullied would go and tell someone in authority at the school. It does not always work that way. A strong, watchful eye can catch what is going on in a lot of cases. With most of it happening at schools, teachers and school officials must keep a closer eye for the signs that someone is being bullied.            It is not just school officials that need to keep a closer eye on bullying and speak up when it happens. Students know when it happens. They might not be involved with the bullying in anyway, but they certainly can see it happening, or at least hear about it. [The lesson needs to be learned that speaking up when this is witnessed is the right thing to do.]            The message does need to be driven home about how damaging the things being done to these kids can be. It is not inconceivable to think that if the reality of how damaging it can be was more well known, that maybe some of the bullying would stop. I would certainly like to think that the bullying that led to the recent suicides would not have occurred if the end result had been known.            And those who are being bullied need to be reassured that it will get better, that it will at some point stop. Perhaps Ellen DeGeneres said it best in a video she made in response to these suicides. “Things will get easier. People’s minds will change, and you should be alive to see it,” she said.