A link on the University of Denver Campus Safety’s Web site may soon provide information on sex offenders.

According to Sr. Lt. Steven J. Fay, Campus Safety will most likely have such a link as soon as the logistics are worked out with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. which collect and make available such information.

So far this year at DU there have been three cases of sexual assault (rape) and seven sex offenses where no physical abuse was inflicted (“flashers,” “Peeping Toms”), according to Campus Safety records.

In a story Oct. 21, the Rocky Mountain News reported that at least 30 people on the sex offender registry are at the state’s colleges. The list that the newspaper provided showed no sex offenders on the DU campus. The 30 registered sex offenders take classes, work or regularly volunteer on Colorado campuses, the newspaper said.

The new information on sex offenders results from the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act that took effect Oct. 28. The new federal law requires sex offenders to make their presence on campus known to school officials.

Schools are obligated to share that information with the public. This includes the names and addresses of any registered sex offenders known to frequent the campus.

Campus Safety already maintains a Web site with detailed information on rape prevention, “acquaintance rape” and sexual assault prevention. Campus Safety publishes crime alerts and circulates them on campus.

But with the passage of the CSCPA, Campus Safety, as well as similar departments at other colleges and universities across the country, are grappling with how to implement the new requirements and make campus life safer.

Fay said that by “working cooperatively with the Denver police,” Campus Safety ill very likely be able to effectively inform the campus community of registered sex offenders in the area.

Fay pointed out that there are privacy and civil rights issues. Some critics have argued that publishing the names of sex offenders who have already served their time is unconstitutional and may, in some cases, outweigh the public need to know this information.

The Americans Civil Liberties Union has challenged the new sex offender law in federal court in Connecticut. States have until next year to implement the legislation if there is no constitutional challenge.

But is the public safety more important than the privacy of sex offenders? This question was posed on campus recently.

Halls resident adviser Susan Richards-Benson believes so.

“If you asked me a while ago, I probably would have said no [to registries]. But because of a few incidents in the building, now I would say yes,” said Richards-Benson, “the school should [have a] link to the registry on its Web site.”

Student Faye Bartram said that the DU should go a step further and maintain an online registry of sex offenders.

“You need to know so you can keep yourself safe,” said Bartram.

Campus Safety, however, has no plans to maintain its own registry.

Fay said the department’s primary concern is “making available pertinent information” to the community that is compiled by state law enforcement agencies.