Chief Snellgrove
Dear Editor:
An article in The Daily Campus on Tuesday titled”Police still silent on facts of alleged rape,” raisessome critical issues concerning Southern MethodistUniversity’s compliance with the federal Jeanne Clery Act.Specifically, the article about a rape on November 22, 2003indicates there was a four-day delay in issuing a timely warning,and that to this date, the crime log entry reflects that theincident was reported as an illness.
The Clery Act’s implementing regulations at 34 CFR 668.46(e)(1) require that an “institution must, in a manner that istimely and will aid in the prevention of similar crimes, report tothe campus community on crimes … Considered by the institution torepresent a threat to students and employees.” Although”timely” is not defined, a four-day delay in a casesuch as this one simply cannot be justified.
Further, the regulations at 34 CFR 668.46 (f)(1)(i) require thatan institution’s public crime log include the “nature,date, time, and general location of each crime,” and 34 CFR668.46 (f)(2) requires that the “institution must make anentry or an addition to an entry to the log within two businessdays”. It is clear that the incident was known to be a sexualassault within four days, when the belated warning was issued, andthe crime log should have been updated, as required by theregulations, at that point.
The entry, however, to this day, still reads as follows:
10:35 p.m.: A student called and reported that she was inthe Airline Garage and was feeling ill. Officers andUniversity Park Paramedics responded. She was transported toa local hospital for treatment. Open.
The warning is much clearer:
A student has reported that she was sexually assaulted in theAirline Parking Garage between 9:20 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Saturday,Nov. 22 after leaving Fondren Library Center at SMU. While studyingat the library, she became ill after drinking from a water bottlethat she left unattended for a time, went to her car on the fourthlevel of the garage and lost consciousness. She called SMU policefor assistance.
In the future, warnings should be issued as soon aspossible.
Certainly within 24 hours, but sooner if possible.
Also, the crime log entry should be updated immediately asrequired by the Clery Act. All entries must be “easilyunderstood” and listing a sexual assault report as an illnessdoes certainly not meet the criteria.
We look forward to receiving your prompt assurances that thiscorrective action will be taken. Should you have any questionsplease do not hesitate to contact me at (865) 691-6468), or to callour main office at (610) 768-9330.
S. Daniel Carter
Senior Vice President, Security On Campus, Inc.
Bush and Hussein
Dear Editor:
I must protest the association of President Bush with SaddamHussein in Monday’s “It’s RainingBlood.” Scott Charney wrote, “Perhaps mostimportantly, how is this action of the Bush administration anydifferent from Saddam Hussein (or anybody else, for that matter)ordering the execution of his political opponents?” “This action” refers to the Bush administration’sreduction of funding to the United Nations Population Fund, which”provides critical population assistance to developingcountries,” according to Colin Powell. I prefer not tofocus on the abortion aspect of this issue, but rather Mr.Charney’s comparison.
As I understand it, Mr. Charney is saying that Bush’sfunding cuts to a group that provides “populationassistance,” in such forms as abortions and birth control,are tantamount to Saddam Hussein’s decrees to assassinate hisopponents. The justification for this comparison is that thefunding withdrawn from the UNFPA has caused deaths to 163,400 womenand children, according to the UNFPA. Regardless of theveracity of the statistics, the analogy is still flawed. Spending cuts of a president that result in deaths are notcomparable to decrees of a tyrant that result in murders.
In addition to preventing the hundreds of thousands of deaths,the funding “could have prevented 4 million unwantedpregnancies” (read: could have aborted 4 millionfetuses). The fact that lives were saved due to the fundingcuts further discredits Mr. Charney’s comparison in the eyesof those who believe that fetuses are living beings.
Regardless of whether the UNFPA should receive United Statestaxpayer funding, or how accurate the statistics from the UNFPAare, the funding cut by the Bush administration that indirectlyresulted in deaths is not analogous to the atrocities committed bySaddam Hussein.
Troy Heerwagen
Second-year mechanical engineering major
