(This article represents the opinion of the author)
The same mechanism, that caused the molestation of young boys at Penn State is still there! If a child were to be molested tomorrow, we still have the foundation that would allow this same situation to replicate itself; different child, same problem!
In Academia, almost everyone works "At the Pleasure of," every Administrator above them. If you as an employee bring a criminal issue to the attention of your superior, you become vulnerable to retribution. It is safer to hide a criminal issue, than to report it. When an Illegal or criminal situation materializes, administrators go into self defense mode, to avoid an attack by their superiors. In Self Defense Mode the administrator would try to place the blame, for a given situation, on a subordinate employee. Most administrators are descent people, that are being forced to act in an undesirable way, by the "system."
Supervisory and administrative personnel are also victims; they too are subject to the whimsical decisions made by their superiors. Any report of an illegal or criminal act, creates a literal Chain Reaction; one report by an employee will generate scorn from 25 of his superiors. Is that not a chain Reaction? Would an Informant be eager to make his information public; I don't think so! In the case of Penn State, that is exactly what happened.
Faculty, as well as Students, Staff, and Administrators, all need legal protection against their superiors; that would empower them to safely report a criminal incident or situation. As of now, none of the above have adequate protection! Contesting retribution, by a superior, in a court of law, is not an option; because such cases can take years to be settled. A family can be thrust into financial ruin in months.
An "Informant Protection Law (IPL) is desperately needed, that would protect, Student, Staff, Faculty, and Administrator informants in Academia, from being demoted, minimized, or fired for reporting, a criminal incident or situation. This law must also authorize the formation of an "Informant Panel," that has the power to impose severe penalties, in order to protect the informant. No trial would be necessary to impose fines; only a meeting of an "independent Panel."
An edict must also be appended to the job description of every college administrator, and staff member, stating that their job is to bolster education, not to address criminal matters. Administrators as well as staff should be told to report all alleged criminal issues only to the "Informant Panel." Any violation of this edict would result in the immediate dismissal of the administrator or Staff member. A collage is not a Police Department; and administrators should not be addressing alleged illegal or criminal issues.
The horrible incidents of molestation at Penn State, happened because Administrators, and staff, did not have legal protection. If this law had been in place, the sexual assaults on the children at Penn State, may not have happened.
We are responsible for the Sanduski, incidents, because we failed to impose an "Informant Protection Law," which would have given unlimited legal and financial protection to the informant. The person who committed the crime should be prosecuted; not the Informant, or the Students.
