Lake Michigan College president stands by policy

3-20-2010 Michigan:

Robert Harrison says suspending child sex offenders part of duty to protect children

BENTON TOWNSHIP - Lake Michigan College President Robert Harrison is standing by the college's decision to suspend registered child sex offenders from its campuses, while holding out the possibility that the controversial policy could be modified.

In the meantime, even though an appeals committee overturned one of the suspensions last week, the practice remains in force, Harrison said during an interview at LMC Thursday.

"We felt it was our duty to protect the large number of children who visit our campuses on a regular basis," Harrison explained of college officials' decision to bar from LMC's campuses people convicted of sexual offenses involving children.

Harrison said he and John Selmon, executive dean of student services, were responsible for making the policy decision. They did not seek input from professionals who work with sex offenders, nor did they get advice on the legal aspects of the move, Harrison said.

Selmon could not be reached for comment.

Harrison said the trustees he contacted supported the policy.

While there is no written policy covering this issue, the student code of conduct allows the dean of student services to determine what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior for students, Harrison said.

But how many children come to a college that caters to adults?

Harrison said Lake Michigan College participates in many programs that bring students from elementary grades through high school to the campuses. Those occasions range from career days to early college exposure to an event next month that will bring about 500 high school students to the Benton Township campus to observe the state Supreme Court, Harrison explained.

He didn't know how much contact the younger students would have with the college students during these outings, but added that LMC's campuses are open and there is the potential for incidents to occur. Private day care centers operate on the Napier Avenue and South Haven campuses, as well.

The policy does not extend to people who have committed sex crimes against an adult.

Much of the criticism of the policy has centered around the question of why college officials aren't doing more to protect their students from sexual predators, such as rapists, who target adults.

Harrison said the college decided to focus on bolstering protection for "the most vulnerable population" - the children.

Adults need to be cautious while on campus in the same as they would be cautious in going to the store, Harrison said. "There are sex offenders in our society. We are all expected to be vigilant."

The possibility that some sex offenders might have landed on the 25-year registry as juveniles themselves, in so-called "Romeo and Juliet" cases with other minors, has been raised as well.

At the time the policy was discussed, Harrison said he did not consider looking at the students on a case-by-case basis, trusting that their placement on the sex offender registry is sufficient evidence of a security risk.

"We are relying on the judicial system to make these decisions," Harrison said. "In these cases there was a prosecutor, a judge and maybe a jury, with information we didn't have access to. We are relying on the judicial system to function as designed."

The issue arose when a student seeking to register for winter classes identified himself as being on the sex offender registry. This led to the investigation that found other sex offenders already registered.

About a week after the policy was announced Feb. 7, three students were suspended; two later filed appeals.

The day before the appeals were heard March 12, Harrison and staff members met with Gloria Gillespie, a Berrien County commissioner and a counselor who has worked with sex offenders and victims for more than three decades. Other authorities in the field were also in the meeting.

Gillespie had been critical of the policy she said could punish people trying to build new lives for themselves many years after an offense was committed.

Harrison said the information they offered was "valuable and helpful," but it did not change his position.

The next day a committee repealed one of the suspensions, while another committee upheld the college's sanction for the other student.

Harrison said he had no knowledge of how these decisions were arrived at.

"I wasn't part of the panel" made up of faculty, administrators and students, Harrison said.

Harrison did not know of any lawsuits stemming from the suspensions.

Because the appeals panel has opened a hole in the blanket policy, Harrison said administrators will be presenting "multiple recommendations" to the board of trustees on how to proceed, adding that a written policy is "a possibility."

For now, people on the registry as child sex offenders will be limited to taking online classes through LMC.

In the case of future students, "we will default to the wisdom of the judicial system," Harrison said. ..Source.. JOHN MATUSZAK - Assistant Local News Editor