Nearly 40 years ago, Jeanne Clery was a freshman at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She was raped and murdered in her own dorm room by a student who managed to enter her dorm after the door was left unlocked for her roommate.

Picture of Jeanne Clery. (Contributed/University of Alaska Anchorage)

Following her death, Clery’s family sued the institution for their inaction and disregard for student safety on campus. The family was unaware that prior to their daughter’s death, 38 other violent crimes had taken place on that campus. Having access to that information could have completely shifted where their daughter went to school.

In 1990, Congress passed the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act. This requires colleges and universities to disclose campus crime statistics from the past three years, along with campus safety and security policies. Institutions must publish an annual security report by Oct. 1 each year and distribute it to current and prospective employees and students, as well as submit it to the U.S. Department of Education – Campus Safety and Security.

ETSU’s 2022 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report was distributed via email to students on Sept. 30, 2022. The document can also be found on the ETSU Public Safety website.

In ETSU’s Clery Act Compliance Policy, the university shared the Annual Security report on the ETSU Public Safety website, and hard copies are available from Public Safety upon request. The most updated policy became effective on Sept. 20, 2021, according to their website.

The policy states that “ETSU employees promptly report any activity that is perceived as criminal, potentially dangerous, or suspicious to Public Safety or a known Campus Security Authority.” Once it has been reported, Public Safety will take the appropriate action.

To fulfill the Clery Act requirements, ETSU also issues timely warnings, emergency notifications, maintains a daily crime and fire log of all reported crimes and fire incidents and notifies local law enforcement if a person goes missing.

For more information on the Clery Act, visit oupub.etsu.edu/dps/clery-compliance.php, or contact the Clery coordinator at weavercs@etsu.edu. You can also find the CSA Crime Statistic Reporting Form on the ETSU Public Safety website.