The Clery Act

The Clery Act

By Kelsey Wilkins

            The Clery act is also known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. It is an act that states that all college campuses and universities are required to be apart of the financial aid program and also keep and make known information about crimes on campus [1].

The Clery act is names after a girl named Jeanne Clery. She was 19 years old and attended Lehigh University. She was raped and murdered in her dorm in 1986. After this crime, it turns out that there were many other crimes on college campuses that go unreported and people felt that they had the right to know what was happening on their campuses in order to stay safe [2]. So why were people so outraged about not knowing what crimes happen on their campus? Don’t you think that would make them more paranoid? Or do you think it is better that you do know what is happening on the campus?

Personally, I would want to know what is going on around campus because then you can be on the lookout for strange things that are happening. I have been hearing some rumors that 3 girls have been raped in Lynch, but no one has told us anything and it it’s a crazy thought that three people have been raped because we don’t know why, there are also different types of rapes, not all of them are someone forcefully grabbing you, they person could just be drunk and someone takes advantage of you. Even though that still isn’t good. This act also helps the crime “get out there” so if people know what happened during the crime they could help solve it or help find the person that was in it.

President George Bush signed the act in 1990. It was originally named the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 but was changed to the Jeanne Clery act in 1998 [3].
So would you want to know about a crime that happened on your campus? I think it would make me feel safer because then you know that there are people watching out for you and you know that they will do anything to protect you. 

Citations

1.     Wikimedia Foundation. "Clery Act." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clery_Act (accessed March 31, 2014).

2.     "Jean Cleary Act." Jean Cleary Act. http://www.mineralarea.edu/programsandcourses/publicsafety/DeptofPublicSafety/JeanClearyAct.htm (accessed March 31, 2014).

3.     "Jean Cleary Act." Jean Cleary Act. http://www.mineralarea.edu/programsandcourses/publicsafety/DeptofPublicSafety/JeanClearyAct.htm (accessed March 31, 2014).