There is no doubt in my mind that Charleston is a relatively safe community to live in. Charleston certainly does not experience anywhere near the amount of violent crimes Chicago or New York do. But wouldn’t it be nice to know if the person in your neighborhood or on your residence hall floor has done something seriously wrong that could potentially be a threat to you or your family?

Student Senate members and the members of the university’s administration agree that students who commit violent crimes on campus should have their names reported to the community. If not reported, they should be at least readily accessible to anyone who wants the information.

Illinois already has similar laws on the books. For people convicted of illegal sexual acts, a sex offenders list is available at the local police station. Police provide this information so citizens living in a neighborhood can check the list to see if any potential risk to their family exists.

Others who have been convicted of violent crimes also can be tracked down on the Internet by going to the Illinois Department of Corrections Web page. This page is fully searchable by last names, and various other forms of search parameters can be applied.

So why isn’t the same true for Eastern students who are caught committing violent acts? Why is their privacy so important?

The Student Senate last week passed a recommendation to the university that the Judicial Affairs Office release a person’s name, the charge and the outcome of a student who is brought before the judicial board for committing violent acts such as rape, arson and murder. As a journalist, this is a good thing for me to get my hands on; as a citizen and member of the university community, this is an important and potentially life- saving thing for me to get my hands on.

Now the decision is left to the President’s Council and the judicial affairs committee to decide whom they want to protect more – the students of this campus community or those who are found guilty for violating the law.

It seems like a logical choice, but I’m sure that privacy issues will be raised.

I’ve had some experience with those people who like to say their privacy has been violated. Usually one or two people per semester call, sometimes in tears, to the newsroom begging and pleading that their names not be in the police blotter. After we inform them of our policy, they quickly switch gears and try the privacy approach, saying they have a constitutional right to have their name omitted from The Daily Eastern News’ police blotter.

This doesn’t work for me, and I too have a constitutional right to put your name in the police blotter. Through the years, I have learned a little trick to keep your name out of the public arena: If you really don’t want your name released, then don’t do anything wrong. There, that solves the problem – doesn’t it?

There’s got to be some point where the rights of others comes before the rights of those found guilty in the court’s eyes – whether it be the Coles County Circuit Court, the Illinois Appeals Court or the Judicial Affairs Office of Eastern.

Hopefully our university leaders will see that point and choose to protect the majority of students who do nothing wrong, rather than the minority of those who do.