Students death calls for change

By Jessica Jakary
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

Outraged by the brutal murder of their daughter as she slept in her college dormitory, two parents began a personal crusade that has since impacted every American campus.

Jeanne Clery, then a freshman attending Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., was attacked by a fellow student April 5, 1986. The perpetrator gained access to the victim's bedroom by simply walking through a series of open doors.

"We learned that institutional response to such tragedies could involve callousness, cover-ups and stonewalling," said Howard and Connie Clery in a statement within their foundation's Web site (www.SecurityOnCampus.org).

Together, they sued the school for failure to warn of foreseeable dangers on campus as well as negligent failure of security. After the case was settled in 1988, Pennsylvania passed groundbreaking legislation that required its colleges to give the community heightened access to published crime reports.

Many states were soon to follow, and in 1990 President Bush passed into law the "Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act." Less than 10 years later, the name took on a transformation and became known as the "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act" in remembrance of the young woman whose death inspired a movement toward change.

"I feel that allowing the public to have access to this information is in the best interest to all and promotes awareness," said Rose Ann Roso, a California teacher.

Any college receiving federal funding must annually release information that relates to the number, locations and seven categorical types of crimes (criminal homicide, arson, robbery, sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arrests and hate crimes) committed on campus within a period of the last three years.

These figures are available to employees as well as current and prospective students alike. In addition to this report, any police or security station located within the bounds of a college must allow Online crime logs to be viewed by citizens.

Such regulations do not extend far beyond the educational realm, however. Cities and counties are not considered responsible for providing as thorough an account of what takes place within their realm of authority. According to Stan Skipworth, captain and assistant chief of the Cal State Long Beach Police Department, law enforcement agencies off-campus have different standards when it comes to gathering, organizing, and circulating local crime data. "This is important, because it allows some deviances in the numbers that are assembled for one report versus another," he said. "As for the influence upon the student body, I believe that they have the right, as the law suggests, to know the culture, activity, and vulnerabilities of the campus, just like the communities where they live, work, etc."

Together with Captain Skipworth, the University Police freely distribute""Annual Crime Statistics" pamphlets. How to go about reporting a crime, important telephone numbers, specialized seminars being offered and security awareness efforts at the college, as well as policies concerning alcohol, drugs and weapons are contained within.

"Every college has rape, drugs, crime, and illegal activity. Unless the campus boasts top 10 ratings in one of those categories, it doesn't matter much," said Dorian Connelley, 20, a film and electronic arts major at CSULB. "What I'd be more concerned about is if there are emergency phones, campus safety outposts, patrols, and well-lit paths."