Colleges should release crime statistics to prospective students.

Doris Karpiel, R-Roselle, introduced Bill 1515, which would force colleges to publish their crime statistics. NIU, along with many other schools across the state, does not publish the statistics.

Schools should publish crime statistics because safety is the new variable in choosing a college.

Although the numbers might be confusing and people looking at the statistics would need additional information to understand the overall picture in the correct context, the effort should be made willingly before required by law.

The statistics should be released because they are important. When buying a house or moving into a different neighborhood, it is natural for the buyer to look into the neighborhood’s atmosphere before making the final decision.

Students deserve to know what kind of atmosphere the school of their choice has outside the classroom. They deserve to know what sort of criminal activity there was near campus in the past so they can make the necessary adjustments if they attend school.

The fact is that students and their parents pay a lot of money for an education and have the right to know all of the intangibles that go along with it. They need to know if the crimes are college kids acting dumb or if there is really a safety problem.

If you were to buy a house, you would ask what the neighbors are like, wouldn’t you?