Eastern Michigan University President Fired for cover-up

Update 7/21/07:
The University has also fired Jim Vice, the Vice President for Student Affairs and Cindy Hall, the Director of Campus Police. It has also placed a letter of discipline in the file of Kenneth McKanders, the university's legal counsel.

The Department of Education issued their preliminary report earlier this month. They found seven "serious areas of noncompliance."

1) Failure to provide "timely warning" in response to homicide investigation of on-campus student death
2) Lack of administrative capability
3) Lack of a timely warning policy
4) Failure to properly disclose crime statistics
5) Lack of adequate policy statements
6) Failure to report all required statistics occurring on public property and in non-campus buildings or property
7) Failure to properly maintain the crime log

Orange Taylor III, the student who allegedly murdered Laura Dickinson was charged with murder and is scheduled to go on trial this fall. He has pleaded not guilty. He is currently in jail without bond.

Please note that this person had a previous record. Eastern Michigian University officers had contact with Taylor at least twice in less than a year concerning three incidents. The calls included the break-in at King Hall, a damaged table in the Pray-Harrold classroom building and a report of a student selling marijuana in the Eastern Estates.

With regards to the incident at King Hall, the police report stated that Taylor was looking for "girls and activity on campus" and noticed lights on at the building. He first tried a locked door and then discovered an ajar window. A staff member discovered him as he pulled himself through a window.

Unconfirmed sources indicated that Taylor was failing in his classes. Questions are now being asked on why this student was not dismissed from the school. A fellow classmate told Ann Arbor News that Taylor was kicked out of his dorm after the marijuana incident.

The evidence so far clearly shows that Orange Taylor III is guilty. Security cameras placed Taylor at the scene of the crime showing him entering Dickinson's dorm through the front entrance, and leaving by the stairs. Court records said his DNA matched seminal fluid found on Dickinson's inner thigh. With this and his previous record, he's guilty. Plain and simple.

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CNN reported that John Fallon, president of Eastern Michigan University, has been fired on Sunday due to his involvement in a cover-up surrounding the rape and slaying of a student. The Board of Regents voted unanimously on Sunday to terminate his employment contract. Fallon served two years on his five-year contract.

His dismissal follows an independent law firm investigation and U.S. Department of Education report, both of which found that the 23,500-student public university violated the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to disclose campus security information.

The body of Laura Dickinson, 22, was discovered December 15 in her dorm room. At the time, university officials told Dickinson's parents and the media that she died of asphyxiation but that there was no sign of foul play, despite evidence to the contrary.

It wasn't until another Eastern student was arrested in late February and charged with murder that her family and fellow students learned she had been raped and killed.

The accused student, Orange Taylor III, of Southfield, has pleaded not guilty to murder and criminal sexual conduct charges in Dickinson's death. He is scheduled for trial October 15.

Many in the university's administration were accused of covering up the truth and endangering students to protect the school's image, which has been marred in recent years by tensions with faculty, students and the community.

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This outrageous incident should serve as a wake-up call to other universities and colleges. Students, faculty, and staff should be proactive in making sure accurate and truthful data is provided regarding campus security.

CNN - University president fired after alleged rape cover-up

Chronicle of Higher Education - President Fired at Eastern Michigan U. Over Campus-Crime Scandal

WLOS ABC 13 - University president fired after alleged cover-up of campus killing

MLive.com - Instability at the top beleaguers university

Fox News - Outrage Over Eastern Michigan University's Silence on Student's Rape and Murder

New York Times - University Fires Officials for Concealing Killing