Although some people agree with the state's decision to withhold victims' names from the public, others believe the state has no right to make that choice.

The new law is an amendment of the 1988 College and University Security Information Act that forced campus police to keep daily records of the calls handled on their respective campuses, University Police Services Shift Supervisor Dwight Smith said.

The act also forced police to provide students and university employees with information regarding crime upon request, Smith said.

Although the law went into effect Wednesday, University police began implementing the law Jan. 9, Smith said.

In addition to preventing police from using victims' names in the police log, which they were formerly able to do, the new law requires campus police services to provide the public with the offenders' names who have been arrested and charged with a crime.

Previously, police were not required to include offenders' names, and frequently did not, in minor criminal cases.

The new law "has to do with problems you get into when you release victims names," Smith said.

But withholding information troubles Steven Knowlton, assistant professor of journalism.

"Often, it is just damn wrong," he said.

Knowlton said he appreciates the legislators' political intent but thinks the decision of what type of information is published in a paper should be left to the journalists.

He said he thinks the decisions should be made by journalists because politicians often abuse the power vested in their offices.

But Smith said the law was implemented to protect students. In addition to the embarrassment caused by the name appearing in the police logs, some students have suffered retaliation from the perpetrators, he said.

To an extent, Smith agrees with the new law.

"It's not neccessary to know the victims. They shouldn't suffer the publicity, it should be the perpetrator," Smith said.

While the new law may create some additional paperwork for the police, he said he hopes that it will actually deter some criminal activities.

Smith said another benefit of the law is that the police do not have to explain why they do not release victims names in certain cases.

"It's not just policy now, it's law. It simplifies matters," he said.

Some students agreed with the idea of not putting victim's names in the police logs, and some felt that the perpetrators names should also be excluded.

"I disagree with putting the perpetrators in," said Tim Fasnacht (junior-labor and industrial relations). "They could be innocent. It could ruin their lives."

Jill Coward (junior-marketing) also agrees that perpetrators names should excluded, adding that victims names should also not be used.

"I think it's a good idea to keep the victims names out of it," she said.

Coward also said she thinks the names of the perpetrators should not be included until they are proven guilty.