Eastern Michigan University Covers Student Murder

Eastern Michigan University Covers Student Murder

After days of unanswered calls, the family of Laura Dickinson became very worried about her. The 22 year old student at Eastern Michigan University was found by campus police in her dorm room, raped and killed. Campus police, however, told her family and the community surrounding the campus that there was no evidence of foul play.

Although Dickinson was found with a pillow covering her face and semen on her leg, the official word from Eastern Michigan University was that Laura had died of natural causes, that somehow the healthy student had been killed by a freak accident.

Ten weeks later, Dickinson’s family was shocked to hear that an arrest had been made in the case, and the man arrested was being accused of murdering and raping their daughter. This was how her family and the EMU campus learned of this murder.

With evidence of foul play certain at the scene of the crime, university officials and campus police kept the investigation quiet. They failed to inform the student body that there was a possible murderer still on the loose in their area.

By keeping this information secret, the university was in direct violation of the Jeanne Clery Act, mandating that colleges must inform the campus community about crimes that are considered to be a threat to students and employees.

The Michigan Board of Regents commissioned an independent investigation into Laura's death. The almost-600-page report states, "The facts show that the University failed to timely and properly warn the campus community about Ms. Dickinson's death, which was unquestionably a possible homicide."

With this obvious breakdown in federal policy, the university exposed many students to extreme danger. Although classes had broken for the holidays shortly after the incident occurred, there were ten weeks before the public was alerted to the activities in Dickinson’s dorm room the day of her murder.

Without asking more questions, pressing for a real cause of death, it is unfathomable that the parents did not push for a more intensive investigation that was out in the public eye. By bringing forward their questions, the university would have had to bring the facts and the hunt for a killer out in the open.

With security of students on high alert following the Virginia Tech shootings, this university set an example of how NOT to handle a crisis situation. Statements made the day after the alleged murder assured the public that there was no reason to be alarmed about what happened, when the crime scene held clues that indicated otherwise.

The university has not only possible legal troubles from failing to comply with the Clery Act, but they also have a public image crisis. By failing to inform their students, they put themselves in jeopardy of gaining incoming students. Students would have a decreased trust and sense of security on campus, and rightfully so. With reports and statements, this university has a long road ahead, taking steps to improve their credibility. Not only with students, but with their parents- the ones who write the checks.


--Lacey Earls