“Two more University of Akron students were attacked and robbed near campus on Friday. If you didn’t hear about it, don’t feel bad. It’s not as though anyone is going out of their way to tell you. The university should have, though. Not just because it’s the right thing to do; it actually has to.”
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Two more University of Akron students were attacked and robbed near campus on Friday.

If you didn’t hear about it, don’t feel bad. It’s not as though anyone is going out of their way to tell you.

The university should have, though. Not just because it’s the right thing to do; it actually has to.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act – a federal law – requires universities to disclose information regarding crime that occurs on and around campus.

The law requires colleges to provide an annual statistical report, a daily campus crime log and timely reports regarding crimes that pose ongoing threats.

On Oct. 1, UA did provide the annual crime statistics report.However, the university did not provide timely reports about most of the robberies that have occurred over the past two weeks.

If UA thinks it can’t get in trouble for not adhering to this federal law, it is mistaken. The Department of Education has blacklisted a number of colleges for a a variety of violations.

One college was fined $200,000 for violating the Clery Act, including failure to report specific incidents. Some schools have been found in violation for not issuing timely warnings.

Sound familiar? It should.

We’ve repeatedly brought this to the attention of administrators and our readers.

Not because we want to be the fly in the ointment, but because we firmly believe that awareness is the best way to keep the campus community safe.

Let’s be honest: violent crime is becoming endemic to the area surrounding campus. The campus is in the heart of a city that has serious problems.

We’re not in a bubble, safe from the realities of city life. And we shouldn’t act as though we are, either.

Last week, when two people were attacked in two separate incidents in the middle of the night – one on Kling Street, the other at Main and Exchange streets, UAPD knew about it. University police assisted on the calls. So why don’t we know about it?

We’ll even go so far as to say that the university should tell us even if it weren’t required to.

It’s just the right thing to do.

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