See earlier story.3-14-2010 Michigan:
BENTON HARBOR - One Lake Michigan College student who appealed a suspension for being on the child sex offender registry will be allowed to return to campus, and another who appealed remains barred, a committee decided late Friday.
A news release from the college provided no details on the split decision.
Faculty and administrators who were members of the appeals panel were likewise mum on the subject.
Marjorie Zibbel, an associate dean for community and business services, said that as a stipulation of her participation on the panel, "I was asked to promise not to discuss this with anyone outside the panel."
Other panel members were faculty members Frank Stijnman, Michelle Stone and Erick Pifer, and administrator Lee VanGinhoven, executive director of facilities management.
Pifer had no comment, as well. The others could not be reached for comment.
Two members of the Student Senate also took part, but their names were not released.
Committee members were drawn from a pool much like a jury, LMC spokeswoman Laura Kraklau said. The appeals were heard separately, and which committee members heard which appeal is being kept confidential.
Such a policy allows for discrimination -between decisions- based on differing personal beliefs, and no history of courtlike decisions. Can these be appealed to circuit courts?
In a written statement, LMC President Robert Harrison said, "This entire process has been about our belief that we as a college have an obligation to protect the thousands of children who come to our college each year for a wide variety of educational activities."
Harrison added, "At this point, we will review our college policies and procedures related to this topic and determine from there how we will proceed."
The college instituted the policy that prohibited child sex offenders from its campuses Feb. 7. The issue came to light when a student attempting to register admitted to being on the registry. He was not allowed to sign up for on-campus classes.
Administrators discovered that there were three students on the registry already on campus. They were suspended and barred from the college's four campuses, although they will be allowed to take classes online. Two of those students chose to appeal their suspensions, which amounted to expulsions since names remain on the registry for 25 years.
The new policy was announced on the college's Facebook page. Respondents questioned why the college's policy did not extend to those convicted of sex crimes against adults, including rapists.
There was no similar announcement about the outcome of the appeals on the LMC Web site.
The issue has drawn national attention, including an article on the Chronicle of Higher Education's Web site. Experts have questioned the effectiveness and legality of having a blanket policy for all child sex offenders, rather than addressing them on a case-by-case basis.
Gloria Gillespie, a Berrien County commissioner and a counselor who has worked with sex offenders and victims for 35 years, has expressed her opposition to the policy. She met with Harrison and members of his staff Thursday to offer her expertise in the hope they would rescind the policy.
Gillespie told them that she had been in a conference that day with the head of Berrien County's juvenile court, who reported that 17 of the 115 juveniles ages 7-12 who came to court last year were sex offenders.
"That means, in six years, when they want to go to college, they can't," if a college or university has a policy like LMC's in place, she said. ..Source.. JOHN MATUSZAK - Assistant Local News Editor
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