News reporting isnʼt a crime Policies need to change when crimes go underreported

Many Pierce students may face fears while in the classroom such as social anxiety, performance anxiety and uncertain employment, but campus safety should be their biggest concern—and Pierce College’s top priority.

There have been three assaults within 100 yards of the Pierce College sheriff’s station within the last six months — two of them involved physical violence on a faculty member.

Seven months ago, a disgruntled boyfriend confronted his girlfriend during class in the Village. The instructor and assailant got into a physical fight. Later, Tyshaun Middleton kicked out the back passenger side window of a sheriff’s cruiser.

One month ago, a female faculty member was punched in the face in parking Lot 1 during an exchange of words with a student over a parking issue.

Three weeks ago another assault took place in the Village. A parolee followed students into class, acted erratically, then made threatening statements and saying his intention was to take over the class.

If you are surprised to hear about this now, it’s because the flow of campus crime information essentially came to a halt last semester.

The Jeanne Clery Act compels campus safety officials to provide an annual report of crimes on school grounds covering three years, a daily log of all campus crime made public within two days and immediate notice of threats to health or safety.

Yet, when the Roundup attempted to report on each of the three assaults, it faced steep resistance from both school and campus sheriff authorities

DOWN: Trash everywhere

From the play fields to the farm and the Performing Arts building to every bathroom on campus, trash is prevalent.

-Poll Results-

Have you ever been to the Pierce Farm Center?

Do you feel safe on campus?

* out of 75 responses from those on campus

* out of 77 responses from those on campus

-Corrections-

Volume 119 - Issue 1

Page 1: “Senators name a new president,” Raymond Garcia was also a reporter on the story

Page 1: “Parolee arrested on campus,” Van Nuys Municipal Court is properly named Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys. Also, the source of arraignment information was a Los Angeles Superior Court Public Information officer, not a Van Nuys Public Information officer posing a risk to others on campus.

Page 3: “Parolee arrested on campus,” California Penal Code 422 is commonly referred to as “making criminal threats” not “terrorist threats” as originally sourced.

Described as a half-breach of etiquette by Los Angeles County Sheriff College Bureau Lt. Rod Armalin, the campus sheriff’s station should not direct inquiries about campus crime to school administrators.

Rather, Lt. Armalin says, inquires of a minor nature will be answered by the campus sheriff’s department and information on major campus crime events will be handled by the College Bureau.

However, neither of these recommendations bears consistent news fruit.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Media Guide on the sheriff’s website states clearly that deputies are not to isolate or prohibit media activities like photography, video or interviews or deny access over safety concerns.

The Roundup called a meeting with media arts advisers, sheriff officials and school administrators to solve this campus safety reporting obstacle.

The Roundup seeks to clarify the flow of information from law enforcement concerning crime activity on campus.

The Roundup does not feel it is appropriate to obtain crime information from school administrators because such information may be slanted or withheld to protect school image.

The Roundup will write the rules of engagement into the Roundup Policy Manual to remove any sense of ambiguity from the practice of reporting campus crime news.

Pierce students and faculty, their friends, family and neighbors deserve to have the timely truth about campus crime. The Roundup shall deliver it.