Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian college, is to pay a $14m fine—the largest ever levied—for failing to disclose information about on-campus crime for years. Liberty markets itself as one of the nation's safest campuses, but they'll pay any amount of money to avoid the public finding out just how dangerous it is there—especially the rapes.
The fine is by far the largest ever levied under the Clery Act, a law that requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to collect data on campus crime and notify students of threats. Schools must disseminate an annual security report that includes crime reports and information on efforts to improve campus safety. …
The U.S. Department of Education said it identified numerous cases that resulted in the misclassification or underreporting of crimes. And there were several incidents that the university determined to be unfounded, without evidence the initial report was false.
Only a single cop for the entire 15,000 student population. Lest you chip in with "they're almost getting it right!" it's not because they have a progressive approach.
"This was especially common with respect to sexually based offenses, including rape and fondling cases," according to the department's Final Program Review Determination. …
Many victims of sexual crimes feared reporting because of concerns of reprisal, the final program review stated. Several were punished for violating the student code of conduct known as "The Liberty Way," while their assailants were left unpunished.
"Consequently, victims of sexual assault often felt dissuaded by Liberty administration's reputation for punishing sexual assault survivors rather than helping them," the final program review said. "Such fears created a culture of silence where sexual assaults commonly went unreported."
The contradictory policy of regarding sexual assault as a prerogative while punishing the victims is wildly malignant, and even this "unprecedented" fine can be accounted as a cost of doing business: Liberty U generates more than $1bn a year in revenue.
Previously: Liberty University, toxic site for sex crimes, says the big problem is the that White House leaked evidence of sex crimes coverup
