When Eastern Michigan University student Laura Dickinson was raped and murdered in her campus dorm in 2006, university officials said there was no sign of foul play, despite evidence to the contrary.
Though university officials told the press and Dickinson's parents she died of accidental asphyxiation, a man was arrested in February 2007, convicted of her first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, according to The Associated Press.
In a ruling handed down last month, the university was forced to pay the largest-ever fine -- $350,000 -- for violating the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges to accurately report campus crime, according to the AP.
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law requiring institutions of higher education to disclose campus security information, including crime statistics for the campus and surrounding areas. It was first enacted by Congress in 1990 and amended in 1992, 1998 and 2000, according to the Web site of the law's founding organization, securityoncampus.org.
In 1986, Lehigh University freshman Jeanne Clery was murdered and sexually assaulted in her campus residence dorm room by another student she didn't know. After they learned her school hadn't informed students about 38 violent crimes on campus in the three years preceding her murder, Clery's parents led the movement to enact the original Campus Security Act.
Violators of the law can face fines of $27,500 per violation or suspension from participating in federal student financial aid programs.
