Issue date: 8/28/08 Section: News

Students may hear alarms more often after a change in national law.

President George W. Bush signed a higher education law amending the Clery Act on Aug. 15.

The law was originally signed in 1990 as part of the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, according to securityoncampus.org.

The new amendment requires universities to immediately notify the campus community following emergencies, according to the act, said Daniel Carter, senior vice president of Security on Campus Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to campus safety.

Threats requiring notification now include larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation and destruction, damage or vandalism of property in addition to crimes such as rape, arson and murder, according to the act.

Penalties for non-compliance with the Clery Act include a $27,500 fine to be paid to the Department of Education or loss of a university's financial aid, Carter said.

"Virginia Tech killings in 2007 were a wake-up call for stricter security to be enforced," Carter said. "Technologies will change, and we expect that each campus will consistently reevaluate their alert systems and methods."

Western has become a much safer campus since the Virginia Tech shootings, President Gary Ransdell said.

"We were safe before, but we've implemented everything we can to ensure effective crisis communication, most of which we wouldn't have thought of if it weren't for learning from tragedy at Virginia Tech," Ransdell said.

Campus police have not yet received notification of the change from the Department of Education, but are prepared to implement the changes, said Mike Wallace, campus police public informations officer.

Annual testing of campus emergency response systems is now mandatory, among other new requirements, Carter said.

"We test emergency phones every week and have software and IT professionals that constantly monitor the system for defects," Wallace said.

The Western system is centralized and able to simultaneously activate all technological and mechanical alert responses within minutes of a reported incident, he said.

"Emergency response methods can be thought of as an onion," Wallace said. "There are many layers to ensure that everyone is notified immediately."

The Clery Act, formerly known as the 1990 Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, was renamed after Jeanne Clery in 1998. It is reinforced by the U.S. Department of Education, according to securityoncampus.org.

The organization was co-founded by Connie and Harry Clery after their daughter, Jeanne, was beaten, raped and murdered at Lehigh University in 1986, according to securityoncampus.org.

Reach Colleen Stewart at news@chherald.com