Campus safety is a big issue not just on the Grambling State University campus, but in all colleges nationwide. Campus security is designed to help keep students not only safe from any harmful situations, but they should also be informed about any dangers going on. However, on March 26 a student was reportedly robbed and beaten with a pistol in Tiger Village. The incident was spotted on camera, but the suspect was a masked gunman. After an investigation by the GSU Police Department, the news was never reported to the Student Government Association or to any media sources on campus.
There have been many incidents that have taken place on the campus of GSU that have yet to be mentioned to the SGA. “It is hard enough to keep danger away from GSU period, but when the police do not report these things, how can we keep the campus informed on what’s going on,” stated SGA President Whitney Moore-White. “The police are violating the rule of the Clery Act.”
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, better known as the Clery Act, is a federal statute that requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses.
The law was named for Jeanne Clery, who was a 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her dorm room in 1986. The Clery Act was signed in 1990 and was originally known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act.
The requirements of the act are very strict. On Oct. 1 of each year, institutions must publish and distribute their Annual Campus Security Report to current and prospective students and employees. Institutions are also allowed to provide notice of the report and a way to obtain a paper copy if needed.
This report is required to provide information regarding crime statistics for the prior three years, policy statements regarding various safety and security measures, campus crime prevention program descriptions, and procedures to be followed in the investigation and prosecution of alleged sex offenses.
The following crimes are required to be reported to the students as they occur: criminal homicide, sexual offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, arson, motor vehicle theft, arrest and/or disciplinary referrals, liquor-law violations, drug-law violations, and illegal weapons possession.
The SGA is working to ensure that GSUPD sticks to these obligations in order to help keep the campus safe.