National Campus News Federal judge bars access to by Christine Tatum TMS Campus March 23, 2000 WASHINGTON (TMS) sities would violate federal privacy laws if they revealed students' dis ciplinary records or details of cam pus judicial proceedings, a federal judge ruled this week. The decision on Monday. March 20, has further stymied efforts by The Chronicle of Higher Education to access student disciplinary records from two Ohio universities. U.S. District Judge George C. Smith found that campus judicial files and proceedings are “education records” protected under the federal Family Educational Rights and Pri vacy Act, commonly known as FERPA. The law prohibits institu tions of higher education from dis CAREER OPPORTUNITY AS A FINANCIAL ADVISOR Chris Abla, the district manager for AMERICAN EXPRESS FINANCIAL ADVISORS INC. Invites you to attend a recruiting seminar on APRIL 5, 2000. Location: Reed rm. 112 Time: spm If you cannot attend please fax resume to (814) 454-5858. Profesional Resume & Secretarial Service (814) 898-4483 Resumesect@mail.com Distinctive high quality resumes at an affordable price Low-cost typing and word processing Fax service Proofreading and Spanish-English translations Open 7 days and evenings until 10 p.m. Same day service available! Pickup and delivery available closing records including “person ally identifiable information” that a student or his or her parents have not authorized the school to release. The ruling has angered campus crime experts and journalism groups across the nation, who say that colleges have used campus ju diciary panels to conduct closed hearings that, in effect, hide illegal and embarrassing information that would be made public if reported to police. Univer- “What the judge is saying is that you get special protection by com mitting a crime on campus, and that is patently offensive,” said Kyle Niederpruern, president of the So ciety of Professional Journalists. “W'hat's also horrible is that the vic tims of many campus crimes will never have their claims see the light of day. Erie AJso serving Wesleyville & Harbor Creek (iSJext to Hoitywood Video) 824-8282 “Everyone has the right to know about crime on campus,” Niederpruern added. “Parents and students need the information to make informed decisions.” The Chronicle case stemmed from a 1997 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that disciplinary records were not “education records” and were, therefore, subject to public inspec tion. The court ordered Miami Uni versity to release complete records including students’ names to a campus newspaper that had sued to see them under the state’s pub lic-records law. Bolstered by that decision, the Washington-based Chronicle re quested student disciplinary records of both Miami and Ohio State uni versities. Both institutions were complying with the request when the department stepped in and filed student disciplinaiy records suit against them for violating FERPA. Because the universities didn't challenge the department's lawsuit, The Chronicle intervened as a third party. Smith sided with the department, and cited legal precedents holding that federal statutes should apply to all issues and documents except those specifically excluded. Be cause FERPA provides some ex emptions, but not one for disciplin ary records. Smith concluded such documents are “education records.” He also stated that campus judicial proceedings and the resulting documents were not “criminal in nature," but instead an internal way of campus codes of conduct. “Tell that to someone who has been date-raped or sexually as saulted," Niederpruern said. In his decision. Smith stated em- ,;£'W itoo’tptay i** ' UiW' Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. phatieally that colleges and univer sities must continue publishing an nual statistics on the number of campus crimes, including hate crimes, murder, rape, robbery, and theft. “The Court believes that these disclosures are adequate to inform students, prospective students, and parents about the safety of various college campuses," Smith wrote. “Releasing the personally identifi able information of the students ac cused or convicted of violating uni versity regulations, as well as infor mation about victims, would not further advance the public's inter est.” Statistics aren't enough to paint an accurate picture of campus crime, said Mark Goodman, execu tive director of the Student Press Law Center in Virginia. AND CARRYOUT efßyour \ v -; ‘ jw>\ >. >‘ .*& <..; .#- \r ■ ‘ VV .. . ' v i< < * * * *■. * * * >'■>• *%%'<•*, 4 * * ' - default on jfour toaas,and mortgages. t\YTT? A A PHEfIA can help. rtIHAA #rca111»28,0355 “ ' PENN STATE BEHRENQ STUDENTS RECEIVE SPECIAL DISCOUNT ON MENU PRICES EVERY TIME YOU ORDER (NO COUPONS NECESSARY) sir".'**' "The judge’s suggestion that sta tistics are all students need to be in formed is a joke,” he said. “For starters, statistics most schools pro vide are inaccurate, and secondly, they’re at least a year old. "And they don’t help a young woman who’s walking alone across campus to know what areas she needs to stay away from,” he added. “That’s because statistics alone don’t provide any of the detailed in formation that would allow her or anyone else to take precautionary measures A spokesman for the Education Department said the decision was "encouraging.” but declined further comment until attorneys there could review the court’s decision. The Chronicle is deciding whether to appeal the case. .A # Cmaa»gAcms»fiikttialiim . v \ •\- vs* F ~K~~ 0 awl 4~~ Y; z~
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers