Wow was that a boring article.
Ok, that said, it was informative reading about how campuses handle crime in the article "Covering Crime on College Campuses". I didn't know an entire Act was implemented for dealing with campus crimes but, also, I suppose I never thought about it much either.
"Since 1991, under the federal "Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act," all institutions of higher education, both public and private, that participate in any federal student aid programs have had to report three years’ worth of campus crime statistics, post security policies and make timely warnings. Many image-conscious schools, however, exploited loopholes in the law to hide crimes or violated it without fear of enforcement.
The 1998 amendments and implementing regulations, which took effect July 1 of this year, close off many of these loopholes, strengthen reporting, and put schools in fear of a $25,000-per-violation fine."
This section caught my attention, although I'm not necessarily surprised. Of course schools are going to try and cover up any problems in order to appeal to prospective students. Would you want to go to a school that boasts 37 murders in the past decade and countless assults? I would hope not. However, by keeping the information private or eskewing the figures, students and parents are left in the dark about the school's safety, information which everyone should be rpivy to. And while I'm not sure how schools would be caught editing the figures, it's comforting that there is a fine in place for those who do not comply. Now we can all feel safer on our campuses knowing they have to report it- aren't you glad the Setonian has the police blotter?
Posted by VanessaKolberg at September 18, 2007 10:19 PM | TrackBack