6. Campus Crime

 

Liberty University Creates Unsafe Environment for Students

The Washington Post, Oct. 2023

Liberty University a private Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia has hidden, underreported and destroyed evidence of campus crimes. The Department of Education launched a investigation into the school after receiving a complaint in May 2021. The review included data from 2016 to 2022.

In response to the Department of Education findings being released, a representative of Liberty says “Liberty University prioritizes the safety and security of every student without exception. Because the Washington Post has made claims based on some information that is false, is not final, and is not public, the University will not comment specifically on any questions posed by the Washington Post at this time.”

However this is not the case, the school has failed to make a safe environment for its 90,000 students. Some of the crimes that were not reported include sexual assaults, bomb threats, and even sexual misconduct of school professors. Not only did the school not comply to the Clery Law which states all colleges who accept government funding must disclose crime statistics and other timely information about campus safety, they also failed to warn students of environmental risks such as gas leaks. 

The fact that Liberty notoriously failed to report campus crimes left them with a seemingly squeaky clean reputation, they were seen as one of the safest colleges in Virginia. Hopefully with the U.S. Department of Education looking into reports of repeated crimes, the students will get full disclosure on the safety of their school. It is important that all campuses give timely campus crime information to its students to keep them aware.