Specter authors bill to redefine campus crime

In February, the University emerged penalty-free from a year-long U.S. Department of Education review of the administration's crime-reporting methods. In its findings, the DOE concluded that only a half-dozen minor violations of the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 had taken place at Penn from 1994 to 1996. But last week, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) -- a 1951 University alumnus -- introduced a bill that would make the existing rules concerning schools' obligations to publically disclose on-campus crime a lot more stringent for Penn and similar institutions. In the face of opposition from his alma mater, Specter introduced the Campus Crime Disclosure Act of 1998, an amendment to the 1990 act, which he co-authored. The main provisions of the act include an expanded definition of campus and "more realistic" penalties for non-compliance, according to authors. The original legislation defined "campus" as including only those buildings "owned or controlled by the institution of higher education within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area that is used by the institution for its education purposes." Properties owned or controlled by recognized student groups also fell under the act's jurisdiction. A 1996 Philadelphia Inquirer article reported that only about 10 percent of the robberies reported to Penn Police in 1995 were designated as having occurred "on campus." Crimes labeled as "off campus" do not have to be reported to the federal government, parents or students in the University's annual crime report. When Penn and other schools interpreted the act to mean that public streets and university-owned retail establishments -- such as the Food Court in the 3401 Walnut Street complex -- count as being "off campus," angry supporters of the original bill called for changes in the legislation. "I don't think the proponents at the time understood how far schools would go to cover up crime," said Daniel Carter, vice president of Security on Campus Inc., a non-profit victim-rights group. "I think the schools understood what loopholes they would have to exploit." The new bill aims to close those loopholes by expanding the definition of campus to include retail establishments, dormitories, streets, parking facilities and other buildings "within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution." Specter, speaking to Congress on May 20, blasted the University's policy of not including stores and streets in its crime statistics. "I believe that the omission of such information violated the spirit of the law and is a disservice to parents and students, especially for parents who send their children to college in urban settings," he said. "I believe it is preposterous to suggest that if a student fell victim to a crime, say on a sidewalk which he or she was using to get to class, that it would go unreported." University administrators expressed either unfamiliarity or opposition to Specter's proposal. In a letter to Specter dated May 18, University President Judith Rodin asked Specter to reconsider bringing forth the new legislation. "We at Penn remain concerned that the changes you propose to the definition of 'campus' would greatly complicate what is already a confusing issue," she wrote. Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon, who has not seen the bill, cautioned against trying to draw "easy yes-and-no answers" from a "very complex matter." And Carol Scheman, University vice president for government, community and public affairs, argued that consistency is the key. "I think that the current definition of campus is as good as any other definition," she said. "If you change the definition now you won't be able to tell if Penn is getting more safe or less safe." Scheman added that she thinks that non-educational buildings should be excluded from campus crime tallies. "Where do you stop?" she asked, inquiring if areas like the Hamilton Village shopping center on the western edge of campus should be included. "There is no perfect definition and no perfect answer." But Howard Clery, who founded Security On Campus with his wife Connie 11 years ago after their daughter was raped and murdered in her Lehigh University dorm room, was skeptical of the University. "That is utter lying," he said. "I think President Rodin ought to take an ethics class during her time at the University of Pennsylvania." "Penn has a major problem," he added. "They have to face up to it." Since the passage of the 1990 legislation -- itself an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965 -- 63 schools have been found in violation of the DOE regulations, according to the General Accounting Office. However, no school has yet been penalized for non-compliance.

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