College faces fines in slaying cover-up

[flashl]

LANSING, Mich. – Eastern Michigan University faces more than $350,000 in fines by the U.S. Department of Education, largely because of the Ypsilanti school’s cover-up of the rape and killing of a student in her dorm room, the school said Tuesday.

The $357,500 in fines is for violating a federal act requiring schools to disclose accurately campus security information. The government’s decision is consistent with a report by the university’s governing board, the school said.

“We expected this and we will accept the final outcome once we have completed the process,” Donald Loppnow, the school’s provost and executive vice president, said in a statement.

School officials said they will request a hearing as part of the Department of Education process. The university has until Jan. 4 to appeal.

The Education Department confirmed that it sent the report to the school.

Some violations in the report are not related to the rape and killing cover-up. For example, Eastern Michigan faces fines for failure to properly disclose crime statistics for 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Student Laura Dickinson, 22, was raped and killed in her dorm room on Dec. 15, 2006, prosecutors have said. Initially, university officials told her parents and the media that there was no sign of foul play. It wasn’t until a fellow student, Orange Taylor III, was arrested Feb. 23 that Dickinson’s family and fellow students learned the truth about her death.

[Echo In Light]

1. Sorority/fraternity hazing - some of which is quite horrifying - is covered up all the time n/t

[flashl]

2. Thats why expectations of self-reporting to DOE is insane. n/t

[Echo In Light]

3. And those are the "wholesome" kids who go on to comprise Corporate America. Simple equation n/t

[rocktivity]

4. If the campus had been informed, perhaps the arrest would have been made

that much sooner. Witnessness may have come forward--"Hey, I saw this guy leaving her room at about eight o'clock!" And suppose he had struck AGAIN?

Though I'd be happier if someone had gotten fired, it serves the college right.

x(
rocknation

[Blue_Tires]

5. a few people did lose their jobs over this, iirc

a whole lot of finger-pointing and passing the buck

[rocktivity]

6. I suppose they were mostly lower-echelon types

Whoever had the power to lie to the victim's parents that way and enough influence over the police and local media to prevent them from publicizing the murder HAS to be pretty high up the ladder--and is therefore probably still working there.

:headbang:
rocknation