By Scott B. Wong
Daily Bruin Contributor
President Clinton is expected to sign a bill next week requiring
colleges nationwide to inform students if there are any registered
sex offenders at their campuses.
The bill, titled the “Violence Against Women Act of
2000,” passed through the House and Senate earlier this
month. It mandates that states document whether sex offenders are
enrolled or employed at higher education institutions and
disseminate that information to campus police.
“It will provide additional resources to prevent violence
against women on campuses,” said S. Daniel Carter, vice
president of Security on Campus, Inc., a non-profit organization
that supports the bill.
Karl Ross, assistant chief of police at UCLA, said he did not
foresee the proposed measure causing much of an impact on the
community, since strong sex offender laws already exist.
For example, Megan’s Law, which is effective in all 50
states, allows citizens to go to their local police department and
access addresses of sex offenders living in their community.
Although this law applies to most police departments, however, it
does not pertain to university police.
“Under the California Department of Justice, university
police cannot provide the public with access to names of sex
offenders,” Ross said, “However, we do direct people to
the West L.A. Police Department if they want to make an
inquiry.”
Currently, UCLA staff and faculty members are fingerprinted upon
employment to see if they are registered sex offenders, Ross said.
But a person who has committed a sex offense won’t
necessarily have that information released to the public.
“There is no requirement for police to notify the
community if a match comes back,” Ross said. “We
don’t have the authority to exclude people.”
Some believe granting students access to these records infringes
on the rights of sex offenders to employment and an education.
“They made a big mistake, but they should have a chance
like all of us,” said Kishore Kukreja, a fourth-year history
student who expressed sympathy for an outcast sex offender whose
story recently appeared on the news.
One Associated Students of UCLA employee said she sees arguments
for both sides.
“At one point, someone was accused of raping a former
employee,” said Megan, who asked her last name be withheld
for fear of losing her job. “I wasn’t comfortable with
that person closing (the store) with other employees
alone.”
But seeking the identity of these sex offenders would be like a
second conviction, she said.
“It is highly possible that they are innocent or changed
or going through therapy,” Megan said.
An earlier version of the measure ““ which was to be
included in amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1998 ““
compelled colleges, rather than states, to identify registered sex
offenders on their campuses.
School officials said they would have had to match databases of
their students and employees against all sex offender records in
each state where those people had resided, creating an
administrative and financial burden.
“UCLA is a school with such a large staff and student
population, many of which are short-term foreign exchange
students,” said Nancy Greenstein, director of community
services at UCPD. “It would have been an all-consuming
task.”