OU considering adoption of new hate crimes reporting system

by Nick Juliano
For The Post  

Ohio University officials are revisiting their policy to allow students who are victims of alleged hate crimes to report the offenses anonymously.

The proposed system, undergoing legal review, is designed to allow students who feel they have been victims of hate-motivated crimes to report the incident without going through the OU Office of Judiciaries, said Janice Edwards, associate vice president of student affairs.

OU officials have been working on the plan since last year but would not comment on specific aspects of the plan because of legal concerns.

According to OU Student Code of Conduct, students accused of violating the code can request their hearings to be open to the public. If the hearing is open, the victim’s name might become part of the record.

A new system aims to guarantee students their anonymity when reporting a hate crime, said Paul Patton, OU Student Senate’s vice commissioner of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender affairs.

“One of the problems is that many of the members (of the LGBT community) are not out,” Patton said.

The proposed system has added relevance after a member of the LGBT community reported an assault to the OU Police Department on Jan. 13. The student reportedly was assaulted behind Lincoln Hall on East Green at about 3 a.m. while walking home from a dance at Casa Nueva, 4 W. State St.

The dance was sponsored by Open Doors, OU's LGBT student union.

No suspects have been named, and the case, filed as a hate crime, is under investigation, said Brian Kapple, OU Police Department investigator. Kapple said he and another officer, Suzette Hall, are in charge of the investigation.

According to the OUPD Web site (http://www.ohiou.edu/police), between 1997 and 1999, a total of six hate crimes were reported on campus, four of which reportedly were based on the victim’s sexual orientation.

Between 1999 and 2001, OUPD investigated two hate crimes, both reportedly influenced by the victim’s race, said Brenda Noftz, OUPD associate director.

But many hate crimes and other acts of harassment go unreported, Patton said.

LGBT community members fear backlash if they report the crime, said Lauren Fisher, co-chairwoman of Open Doors, at a meeting of the organization last week.

Patton said the LGBT affairs commission plans to propose a resolution to Student Senate next week about the incident and surrounding circumstances, but specifics have not been