"I wish I had sent out a notice earlier"

An alleged rape in Granite Hall over Easter weekend has caused the administration to work on its policies of notification for students when an imminent danger is present on campus.

A 19-year-old female student reported waking up in her dorm room early on Sunday, April 14th to discover an unidentified man on lying on top of her. Ryan E. Smith, a resident of Hamden, Conn, was arrested and charged with rape in connection with the incident, according to police reports. Smith allegedly fled the scene and was later caught by police in Jaffrey, while riding as a passenger in his friend's car. He is being held in the Cheshire County Jail in Westmoreland. Smith is not a student of the college.

At a forum with college officials hosted by the Student Government, many students disagreed with how the situation was handled by the college. Dr. Jim Earle, vice president for student affairs said a lot of different, smaller situations were coming to a head and caused this outpouring of concern over the administration's decision-making process.

"Was not notifying the campus of the rape part of a deliberate policy to avoid negative publicity for the school?" asked sophomore Justin Martell.

Earle said that was not the case. He said there are three reasons the campus would be notified of a violent crime: if there was a "clear and present danger to community members," that people have a right to know and that there is educational value in getting information out to the public.

"In retrospect," said Earle, "I wish I had sent out a notice earlier, and I apologize about that."

Ashley Helie, a student, stood in the campus center handing out a clipping of a Keene Sentinel article that first reported the rape. She asked why the campus community had not been informed by the college administration.

"A culture of silence now exists on our campus," said Professor Donna Decker. She requested that the college change its notification procedures before the start of the new fiscal year to notify the entire campus of every violent crime committed.

"We want timely notification bulletins about all violent crimes," she said. "We want a reform of the college's crime log."

Decker was part of a panel including Earle and Professor Paul Bush that was invited to speak with students about the response and reporting of serious crimes on campus.

"There is nothing Donna said that I disagree with, but the devil is in the details." For example, said Earle, cases of incest or statutory rape would fall under that category, but they do not pose a threat to the campus. He will be referring the policy to Pierce Council, a representative body that makes recommendations to President Hagerty.

Professor Doug Ley responded by saying that Pierce Council is where initiatives go to die, but Provost Michael Bell replied that this is why Ley had been elected to sit on the Council.

"I'm confident that this will move forward and there will be changes," concluded Earle.