I’m not entirely surprised our police blotter seems to be a hit, but it is interesting to see how students are intrigued with which of their buddies are getting busted week to week, and why they’re getting busted.
It hasn’t been easy getting it in here, though. After our first publication of the blotter this semester, our access to it was noticeably restricted.
Some entries were marked with a stamp in red ink that read “Confidential,” and names were omitted from almost all of the reports after we published it the first time. That’s why the blotter in Issue 2 was much thinner than Issue 1’s.
After we sent a letter to the IUS Police requesting open access and citing Indiana state laws that show blotters as public record, they have been cooperative in showing us the reports. You’ll notice our blotter is longer this week than it has been all semester.
I can’t really blame the police, though. It seems like there’s still pressure from the school’s administrative offices keeping some departments from completely disclosing information to The Horizon. Of course, this hasn’t been the only time we’ve been denied information.
We’re still only allowed to get information from the heads of some departments on campus. Although they’re perfectly qualified individuals, they can’t always offer the kind of perspective that a good news story is supposed to have.
It’s been a difficult precedent for us to overcome as reporters. We’re supposed to keep our audience informed with what’s happening around them. It’s even more important now that we have people living here.
If anyone’s worried about looking bad, withholding information looks worse than a willingness to disclose. Showing students get arrested for drinking doesn’t make the school look lax in its policies, it shows they take underage drinking seriously.
Speaking of confidential, we still don’t have most of the names of who reported the crimes in this issue, or who was arrested. On reports involving the residence halls, the reports only list “CA” rather than the name of the community advisers who report the crimes. We’re not in the business of pointing fingers, but people should be held accountable for their actions.
I can’t see why the names of community advisers have been omitted from the reports. Everyone living in the residence halls knows community advisers are responsible for reporting any illegal activity. They get free room and board and are paid to keep students safe, which includes ratting on them when they decide to have a kegger.
There was also a count of battery listed in last week’s blotter, but it was marked with a confidential stamp. We don’t know where it happened, who was involved, or what kind of action was taken.
Students need to know what police do about such incidents. How are students being protected? What measures are the police taking to keep these things from happening? Were these students who were involved, or was it someone who doesn’t go to this campus?
Keeping students aware of any kind of suspicious activity can help to keep them safe. When they have an idea of what to watch out for, they’re already safer than they would be if information were kept from them.
As for us, our gripe isn’t that we don’t have access to any and all information whenever we ask for it (which would be nice), it’s that important information is being withheld from students. After all, we are the ones who pay tuition and expect to be served in return. Keeping important information from us is a disservice.
Universities are supposed to put students first, because they wouldn’t exist without us. Keeping information from students shows how we’re second in line to the university’s own self-image.
Closing points of access to information doesn’t make students lose interest, it generates ideas of distrust and secrecy. This is a public institution, and what happens here should be open to all of us.
By JEROD CLAPP
Senior Editor
jlclapp@ius.edu
