friday, december 4, 1987
The crime that lead to campaign by Rebecca Rebalsky editor's note:Tllefollowlng storywaswrltten with lnformlllloncomplled fromlheAsaoclated Press, Iha Easton Express, end the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Nineteen-year-old Jeanne Ann Clery, a freshman at Lehigh University, awoke to the sound of an intruder in her dormitory room sometime ·after 4 a.m. on Saturday, April 5, 1986. She was found dead about seven hours later. Police said Clery had been severely beaten, raped, •and strangled to death. After news of the slaying broke, some Lehigh students told police that their roommate had boasted of killing a girl that day. When police searched the off-campus apartment of Josoph Henry, a sophomore at Lehigh, they found several items belonging to Clery. Henry was arrested fhe foJowing Monday and charged with c.riminal homicide, rape, invo: untary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and robbery. Police said that Henry was able to enter the dormitory building where Clery lived through a door which had been propped open. The door to Clery's room was left unlocked. , -After the arrest, Donald B. Corriere, district attorney for Northampton County, said that he would seek the death penalty for Henry because of the brutality of the murder. During the trial, Henry's lawyer pleaded that Henry was drunk at the time of the murder and did not intend to kill Clery. On April 25, 1987, J osoph Henry was convicted of the rape and murder of Jeanne Clery and all other charges brought against him. He was sentenced, three days later, to death in the electric chair. He is now being held in Northampton County Prison in Easton, Pa., while his death sentence awaits review by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
cabrini college, radnor, pa. 19087
vol. xxxiv, vol.10
Tragic death inspiresbill'Se~uri!yon by Jacqui McClernan
vania colleges and universities to provide prospective students and In a home tucked away their parents with campus crime on a quiet wooded lane in Bryn statistics by category for the pre viMawr the memories of an only· ous three years. Also, it would daughter are as vivid as the day require a detailed summary of the she left. In the bedroom are her types of security measures and many tennis trophies, make-up, policies in effect on campus. Connie Clery said, "Our Lauren perfume and the boxes that were returned to her parents ultimate goal is to have a bill that would require crime statistic to be afterwards. The only difference is published so that parents and stuthat on one bed lies numerous dents have the truth of advertisenewspaper clippings of violent ment in selecting a college." She said that the most crimes on college campuses throughout the country. The important aspect now is the safety steps leading to the upstairs are of the children. However, the Clery's cluttered with mail, just from one day. Signs of the tedious work are meeting opposition both in Howard and Connie Clery do Harrisburg and in some of the daily to turn a tragedy into a larger universities such as the positive crusade. University of Pennsylvania. On April 6, 1986 Jeanne "Priority number one is Anne Clery was found brutally safety and colleges are running raped and murdered in her dor- scared having to swallow that," mitory room at Lehigh Univer- Clery said. The house is beautifully sity. The assailant entered her dormitory through a door that was decorated and filled with portraits propped open with a bottle. Her of Jeanne. On Jeanne's bed are particular room was unlocked. clippings and on a chair many The murderer walked right in. letters to the Clery's. The legisOn an end table in the lation is a part of life. Standing Clery's bedroom is a portrait of in the parlor one can hear Clery Jeanne in a dress she wore to a tell a repairman about the bill, Valentine's Day dance. She is the petition and urging him to sitting on her bed with a radio in write his representatives. the background. It was this phoClery said, ''We are fighttograph that was found in the ing for this legislation in memory camera which was stolen from her of Jeanne. We want to safeguard room and the radio in it that our children." helpedconvictthemurderer. She If the bill was passed it was murdered on that very bed. would mean more work for colIn the wake of their lege security to compile records daughter's death the Clery's have but these can be altered. William Zimmermann, worked in conjunction with RichardA. McClatchy, Jr., Republican Radnor Police Detective said, "If the police department can fudge Chairman, House of Representatives, to propose a bill that would figures than so can a university. A make it mandatory for all Pennsyl- rape -or assault can be written up
Jeanne Clery, the inspiration for college campus security bill. (photo by Kathleen McCabe)
inside perspectives 2-3 news .......:.... 4-6 features ........•7-9 sports ...... 10-12
Meet' Cabrinn's ·oldest stude11t (page 9)
as a less violent disorderly conduct." · As far as the bill is concemed he said that no college would want to put hard cold facts on paper to scare prospective students. "In any security system it is up to the students to maintain it," Zimmermann said. Dan Neyer, director of security, said, "In general college campuses are unsafe. I wouldn't want my daughter on a college campus." · "Security is relative in comparison to other colleges because Cabrini is small but not immune to the problems that a big college encounters," Neyer said. James Fitzimmons, dean of students, said, "As far as I am aware of there have been no reports of assaults or rapes on campus." However, Zimmermann said that approximately a month ago anincident that happened on Cabrini's campus was brought to his attention through Bryn Mawr Hospital. In turn he inform~d Cabrini's administration. The details are vague, but it involved at least two students one of which was definitely not a Cabrini student. A police report was filed however no charges were filed by the victem. When Fitzimmons was approached with this information he said he was aware of this as both be and Neyer spoke to Zimmermann yet elected not to inform the other security guards or campus community. "We do not respond to rumors," Fitzimmons said. "There was no police report filed." He continued, "There is nothing to be aware of and nothing to verify as there is no one to talk to about the alleged reports." "Sure the incident concerned me and that is why we pushed the escort service again and as a precaution had the physical plant worker who comes in in the middle of the night escorted to the building. In addition there are more rounds by the Radnor Police," Fitzimmons said. Just becauseCabriniisin the heart of the Main Line does not mean it is immune to crime. This is evident because the Radnor Police have been called here at leastl0 times according to Neyer and Zimmermann. . . If the Clery's le~slahon were passed, what would 1t mean . to Cabrini? . F1tzunmons said that
MaI n LI ne
by Anne Fahy
The serene campuses of the colleges along the Main Line appear to be havens of safety. However, the degree of proper security for student residences is defined differently by each of the seven area colleges. At Bryn Mawr College deadbolt locks are used at each of the 19 residence entrances. The doors are locked by security officers at 6 p.m. every evening. Each woman has a key to the entrance and a key for her room. Villanova University also uses a lock and key system at L dormitories. Residents of older buildings are issued two keys, one for the main entrance and one for the individual room. Resident Advisors 'are responsible for locking the dorm entrances at midnight on weeknights and "some time after 2 a.m." on weekends, according to Rowan P. Kelly, chief of security. Haverford College issues separate dorm and room keys to all 1200 residents. The college also employs a 24-hour security patrol and a security staff of 25. At Harcum Junior College, the one campus security officer could not be found for comment in two separate
calls. At Rosemont College, resident advisors are posted at each of the four dormitory entrances. VISitors must sign in with the resident assistant, who calls the woman and announces the guest. Cabrini and Eastern Colleges practice similiar security methods, using combination locks on all resident entrances which are changed about once a semester. guidlines would have to be revised, "What alarms me is statewide legislation is not suited fo every school, however, I have not read the entire proposal." If passed Cabrini would be required to publish their crime staistics and also a questionnaire for students and parents. Entering the Clery's home and walking amid the house the grief can be felt. Portraits of a young women whose life came to a tragic end one spring morning are a constant reminder. It remains
Examining students' study habits (page 8)