Subject: Violent Crimes on College Campuses
Author: Joy Wallace <joy@garnet.col-ed.org>
Date: 10/5/98 9:47 AM
>>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>Wednesday, September 30, 1998
>>
>>CONGRESS PASSES LEGISLATION FOR COLLEGES TO REPORT HATE CRIMES STATISTICS,
>>INCLUDING SEXUAL ORIENTATION
>>
>>President Clinton Expected To Sign Bill, Asserts HRC
>>
>>
>>WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate voted 96-0 to pass the Higher Education
>>Reauthorization Act. A part of this bill, which was taken from the Campus
>>Right to Know Act, will require campus police to report incidents of hate
>>crimes on the basis of sexual orientation, disability, religion, gender and
>>ethnicity. The bill is an important step in providing students access to
>>information allowing them to choose a school in which they will be safe,
>>according to the Human Rights Campaign.
>> "This legislation sends the clear message that hate crimes are
>>serious offenses and should not be swept under the carpet. This open
>>policy allows gay and lesbian students to know if they may be at higher
>>risk by attending certain schools. This legislation also allows schools
>>with a high incidence of hate crimes to identify their problems and fix
>>them," said HRC political director Winnie Stachelberg.
>> The House passed the bill the day before by a voice vote and now it
>>will go to President Clinton who is expected to sign it into law. Before
>>this legislation, existing federal reporting requirements only mandated
>>colleges and universities to report hate crimes that result in murder,
>>rape, or aggravated assault. This was inadequate because the majority of
>>hate crimes on campuses are not this extreme. Most incidents come in the
>>form of assaults, or lesser crimes. Unfortunately, vandalism and
>>intimidation as incidents that campus police must report to the Department
>>of Education were not included in this bill.
>> In 1990, Congress enacted the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (HCSA) in
>>an effort to measure the extent of the hate crime problem in America. In
>>1992, Congress enacted the Campus Security Act to require colleges and
>>universities to annually report crime statistics in an effort to measure
>>campus crime and increase security awareness. With the passage of this
>>section of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act, campus police will
>>now also report incidents of hate crimes on the basis of sexual
>>orientation, disability, religion, gender and ethnicity.
>> "The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging it exists.
>>This bill will provide the necessary tools for college administrators to
>>recognize that their institutions may be incubators for hateful activity,"
>>said HRC senior policy advocate Kris Pratt.
>> The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay
>>political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively
>>lobbies Congress, provides campaign support, and educates the public to
>>ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest, and safe at
>>home, at work, and in the community.
>
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