He'll be out in a month

Dharun Ravi, a former Rutgers University student from India who used a webcam to spy on his gay roommate, was sentenced yesterday to just 30 days in jail - a punishment that disappointed some activists but came as a relief to others who feared he would be made a scapegoat for his fellow freshman’s suicide. He could have gotten 10 years behind bars for his part in a case that burst onto front pages when Tyler Clementi threw himself to his death off the George Washington Bridge. Instead, Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman gave Ravi a month in jail, placed him on three years' probation, and ordered him to get counselling and pay $10,000 toward a program to help victims of hate crimes. I don't really think Ravi was a homophobe, but if I were the judge, I would've handed down at least some punishment for invading his roommate's privacy. No matter what his intentions are, he should never have filmed his roommate. In other news, a controversial defensive tactic not seen in the ANZ Championship catapulted the Northern Mystics to a breakthrough win over the Vixens in Melbourne on Sunday. The innovation, in which defender Anna Harrison was hoisted into the air by her defensive partner to block a shot, could possibly change the game of netball.