Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Congress Cites GU in Privacy Reforms

A bill re-introduced to a congressional committee Jan. 4 would amend the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to force universities to “disclose to the alleged victim of any crime of violence, or a nonforcible sex offense, the final results of any disciplinary proceeding.”

FERPA, a federal law enacted in 1974, is meant to protect the privacy of students’ educational records. It allows post-secondary institutions to release the outcomes of university judicial proceedings but does not mandate it.

Currently many universities, including Georgetown, require victims of crime to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to learn of the results of suspects’ judicial proceedings.

According to university administrators, when a non-disclosure agreement is signed, victims can speak about their experiences but cannot reveal the disciplinary outcome to anyone.

The bill, first introduced by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) in September 2003 as H.R. 81, is named the David Shick Honesty in Campus Justice Act, in honor of David Shick, a Georgetown junior who died Feb. 12, 2000 after a fight in the Lauinger Library parking lot.

It is currently under consideration by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Although the Metropolitan Police Department ruled Shick’s death a possible homicide, the case was never criminally prosecuted.

The student implicated in the incident was eventually sanctioned by the university with a 10-page reflection paper and a semester-long suspension. The suspension was deferred on appeal and he graduated in 2002.

Shick’s parents, Jeff and Debbie Shick, were asked by the university to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to learn the disciplinary sanctions placed on the student. They refused and only learned the results after a civil settlement.

S. Daniel Carter, senior vice president of Security on Campus, an organization advocating security improvements on college campuses, said the bill is a necessity.

“Without it colleges can continue to deny the victims of violent crime, or if deceased, their families, information they need to know about their own safety on campus as well as emotional closure,” he said.

Carter also said further changes to FERPA are necessary, including mandating that all campus court sanctioning decisions become public records.

Matt Shick (COL ’04), David Shick’s younger brother, said Monday that his family supported the bill and would soon be launching a Web site to advocate for its passing.

“Rather than schools embracing the idea that there are few offenses on campus, disclosure of disciplinary results make them have to embrace being tough on crime,” he said.

The bill enjoys wide-ranging support and will probably be passed after it is included in a larger piece of legislation, Carter said.

University spokeswoman Laura Cavender said that Georgetown is not taking a position on the bill.

“Of course, were this proposed legislation to become law, we would comply and seek guidance as necessary on implementation,” she said.

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