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    Department of Education Fine Doesn't Go Far Enough

    By Ryan Christopher DeVault | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Wed, Mar 30, 2011
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
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    COMMENTARY | Virginia Tech has been fined for the 2007 shootings that took place on its college campus. The end result of this case may not be what families were looking for though, as the Department of Education was only able to fine the school $55,000. That was the maximum allowable fine for failing to warn their campus in a timely manner on April 16, 2007.

    The U.S. Department of Education stated "Virginia Tech failed to adequately warn students on that day." That is a very harsh judgment by the Department, but it is one it found to be just when examining the facts of that day. It took Virginia Tech two hours to send out an email to the campus after a shooting that took place on the morning of the shooting. During that time, students, faculty and employees on campus could have been made aware that there was potentially a killer on the loose.

    Under the Clery Act, any college or university that receives federal student financial aid is required to report all crimes and security policies immediately, and to provide warning to their respective campuses if there are threats. When two students were killed at the Virginia Tech dormitory that became an instance where the university should have taken the step to warn everyone on campus. Even if there was just a remote chance that a second crime could take place, the warning is necessary to help people prepare.

    The sad story of what happened on the Virginia Tech campus is well known by now, where student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people that included students and faculty before he turned the gun on himself. This was a case that demanded answers right away, and Department officials have finally come forward with the fines to correlate with their original findings in this case. It seems though, the fine would have been much harsher if the Department of Education had that power. Instead, it was forced to go with the maximum of $27,500 for each count.

    The sad realization is the Department of Education could have stripped Virginia Tech of federal funding or at least taken away some of it when they found the school to have violated the Clery Act. Not taking that step might have just devalued the power of the Act and done so at the dismay of grieving families.

     

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