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McCay states Clery data inaccuracies “not discovered in time” to correct 2019 report

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By Emily Walker, Olivia McKelvey, Kevin Boodoosingh

Soon after The Crimson published two pieces regarding violations of the Clery Act involving rape and stalking, T. Dwayne McCay, Florida Tech’s president, released a statement in response to how the university has been handling the matter.

In an email to The Crimson, McCay stated, “Florida Tech takes very seriously all issues related to campus and student safety. Accuracy matters. Several months ago, the university became concerned that some crime data was being improperly interpreted and recorded. A new position of compliance and risk manager was created in part to address this concern. A comprehensive internal review of all crime data for the past three years is ongoing, and when complete, the university will pursue the mechanisms available under the Clery Act to report corrected data.”

According to the Clery Act, federally funded universities must release a report regarding statistics of crime on and around campuses for the past three years. This report is to be released on Oct. 1 of every year. 

On Sept. 27, Barry Cobb, assistant director for Security, distributed Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security Fire and Safety Reports via email to students, staff and faculty. 

Two anonymous students have come forward since the report came out and said they were raped in 2017 and 2018 and reported through Title IX and Security. Under the sexual offenses category of Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, there were zero instances of rape cited for the past three years. 

An instance of stalking was also found on a 2018 crime log. This particular report of stalking was also not cited within Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, as the category of stalking was marked zero from 2016 through 2018.

When asked if the university knew about the inaccuracy of the 2019 Clery data prior to the release of the 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, McCay stated in an email, “It was not ‘discovered’ in time to modify the Sept. 27 report, which was for 2018. We began immediately to try to understand the disconnect and work backwards through all the data. We thought reporting was being done correctly. It was apparently not enough time to get the 2018 data reviewed.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, reporting inaccurate numbers on a Clery report goes in violation of the Clery Act. As of February 2019, the National Association of Clery Compliance officers and professional stated that the U.S. Department of Education can impose $57,317 per Clery Act violation.

Such inaccuracies that have been found include two cases of rape and one case of stalking, all of which occurred between 2017 and 2018. These incidents were all cited as zero within Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports.

McCay stated that the university is going to partner with an outside consultant to “ensure the review is comprehensive and transparent.” He went on to say that when the review is complete, the university will “pursue the mechanisms available under the Clery Act to report corrected data.”

At this time, it is unknown who the outside consultant is that is expected to partner with the university to investigate this subject matter. 

The press secretary for the Student Government Association, Buse Dayioglu, released a statement that emphasized the importance of student voices and the protection of their rights. 

“We would like to take this time to remind the students who have been affected, either during these unreported events or for future events, that you are not alone in this process, and as the voice of the students we will do our best to protect your rights and well-being,” Dayioglu wrote in SGA’s press release. 

Jace Petrowski, the president of SGA, said that SGA was unaware of the inaccurate data prior to The Crimson’s article.

McCay stated that the university’s internal investigation is “active and far from complete.” 

The president declined to directly address certain follow-up questions, citing that the investigation is “ongoing.” He agreed to meet with The Crimson next week after Thanksgiving break to discuss the details further. 

Please continue to check The Crimson’s website, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated. This story is ongoing.

Student service fees increase for SGA

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The Student Government Association has made a resolution to increase student service fees by $75, resulting in a now $200 student service fee.

The fee increase was discussed and approved by the Board of Trustees.

This now allows SGA to have roughly a $500,000 initiative fund to only be used for large-scale initiatives to improve the quality of life on campus.

“This is a major step in the right direction for our student experience,” said Jace Petrowski, president of SGA.

He said that SGA is excited to start projects on campus in the spring when they receive their first round of funding.

Some of the things they will work on include adding lights on the intramural fields, supplementing funding toward esports, adding solar chargers on campus and replacing the equipment in the Clemente Center.

“We can now do all the things we couldn’t have done previously because of how low our student fees were,” Petrowski said.

With this initiative fund increase, the money cannot be used without senate approval.

Petrowski explained that Bino Campanini, the senior vice president of Student Life and Alumni Affairs, would essentially have to present any project Campanini wants to use the money for to the senate.

Petrowski also said that Florida Tech’s student service fee is low compared to other schools such as Nova Southeastern University, whose student service fees are currently $500 a semester.

Another service SGA is working on is a bike station with an outside company. SGA announced during their scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6 that the bike rental program is no longer available due to a number of bikes being stolen.

They stated that they are looking into more feasible ways to provide benefits to students.

Extending library hours is another topic of concern that the SGA senate committee is looking into after hearing many complaints from students.

A Giving Tree fundraising event will be hosted by SGA on Friday, Dec. 6 from 3-5 p.m.

Furthermore, a website will be available for donations for the event, which aims to raise funds for the Orlando Toys-For-Tots charity program.

In addition, this year’s Day of Giving will involve all Student Life organizations.

Any club or organization may partake in different challenges that are related to the theme “superpower” in order to raise funds and earn points.

The winners will receive a $200 VISA gift card.

During the senate meeting, Marc Kanneh, a senior from Trinidad and Tobago, was nominated as the new justice of SGA.

Before the nomination, Kanneh gave a speech about his past experience as a justice and ensured that he will support the offices.

“I would say it is challenging to run a government, specifically the judicial branch,” Kanneh said. “There is really no playbook on how to do this, but I hope my past experience as a justice back in 2017 and 2018 will help me support and represent the offices of SGA.”