The death of Georgetown University junior David A. Shick may result in a federal provision that would make the outcomes of campus judicial proceedings less secret.
Shick died in 2000 from injuries sustained from an alcohol-related fight with a fellow student. After the charges against Shick's attacker had been filed through campus channels, his parents sought solace in the result of the proceedings.
His parents were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement that prevented them from telling anyone - including their other children - what happened to the student responsible for David Shick's death, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. They refused and did not hear of the assailant's punishment - a 10-page homework assignment accompanied by alcohol counseling - until it was released after a separate lawsuit filed against the assailant.
This spelled the birth of a new provision in the Higher Education Act currently up for renewal in Congress, as a result of lobbying by David's younger brother, J. Mathew Shick.
The Higher Education Act, which governs federal student-aid regulations and other federal college laws, was originally passed in 1965 and is renewed by Congress every few years. It is now in the process of being reauthorized.
The provision seeks to enhance victims' rights and encourage integrity in a system that some say doles out sentences disproportionate to the crimes committed.
"The case at Georgetown was handled inappropriately," said Marie Kovalovich, a freshman in the School of International Service, though she said that too open a system could negatively impact the life of the accused.
AU releases the results of campus judiciary proceedings on a case-by-case basis, though the school maintains that confidentiality plays a major role in protecting the rights of the accused, said Gururaj Kumar, assistant director of Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services.
Christina Washington, a freshman in the SIS, said colleges will "have a better image in the community if they place the welfare of students and their families above bureaucracy and red tape."
Introduced in May, the bill has yet to gain traction in what Alexa Marrero, Education and Workforce Press Secretary, calls the "limited legislative calendar," joining the ranks of 11 other appropriations bills on the legislative agenda, only one of which has been passed.
"We're looking forward to getting it re-authorized," Marrero said of the Higher Education Act.
Though Democrats on the committee openly support the specifics of the Shick provision, they accuse Republicans of politicizing the matter by tacking it onto the Higher Education Act.
"It's, of course, an election year and everything's very politically charged," Marrero said.
The legislation officially expires Sept. 30. The programs funded under it can still be funded if the bill is not passed by the end of the month.
"If it doesn't pass it will be reintroduced," Marrero said. However, any reintroduction in the next Congress will reflect the November election and may or may not include the Shick provision.
