Some university officials wonder: Are students concerned about receiving public information about sexual perpetrators at MSU?

A small group of students and staff met last weekend to discuss whether students need to be better informed about the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry, a Web site that lists the names of convicted sexual offenders in Michigan.

The information is organized by ZIP code and includes an offenders’ address, physical description, date of birth and some data about the type of crime committed.

Ann Bolger, director of Residence Life, said the university’s current policy is to make MSU staff members aware that the site can inform students. But that might not be enough.

“We think this is a topic of interest to students. We want to be proactive and get some feedback,” Bolger said.

“We want students to understand the law and the current practice here, to know if it makes sense to them or if they have other ideas.”

After the Sex Offenders Registration Act was enacted in 1994, local law enforcement agencies have been required to make this information available to the public.

The data is provided through the Web site, which is maintained by the Michigan State Police.

All convicted offenders are required to register themselves with local police, and re-register within 14 days after moving to a new address.

Sunday’s forum was attended by Bolger, Vice President for Student Affairs Lee June and Director of University Housing Angela Brown.

The group discussed several possible ways to inform students about the Web site most constructively. Some ideas included sending a campus-wide e-mail with safety tips and distributing flyers in the residence halls.

Brown said the goal is to focus on spreading awareness of the site - not to single out anyone.

“While we understand the concerns of our residents, we also are cognizant of the feelings of those that may be included in the list,” she said. “It’s not something that we would print in the newspaper or anything as far as names.”

She said Sunday’s discussion is just the beginning of more talks MSU will hold.

“We certainly would entertain other comments from students but it’s going to have to get down to the university’s response,” Brown said.

Derek Young, a human resource management freshman who attended the forum, said he supports informing all MSU students about the Web site and not just students living in the dorms.

Young, a Residence Halls Association representative, may take part in continuing the discussion with larger, more diverse groups on campus like ASMSU, the university’s undergraduate student government, and RHA.

“I think it’s something the safety committee will likely discuss and one way to present this to the rest of the MSU students,” he said.

Making students informed of the Web site might be beneficial, some say.

For instance, Jacquelyn Fritz didn’t even know about the Web site until questioned about it earlier this week. She said it seems helpful.

“I would probably check it out because you hear stories about girls getting raped in their dorms,” the advertising freshman said.

For more information or to check out the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry, visit www.mipsor.state.mi.us or www.sexoffender.com.