Larry Westler/The Ithacan Fans gather for a Ludacris concert at Cornell University Nov. 9. The Ithaca Journal filed a Freedom of Information Law request to obtain the university’s police records after an alleged sexual assault took place at the concert.

Public Safety departments at private schools like Ithaca College may no longer be immune to state open-records laws after a judge ruled last month that a Georgia university must make its campus crime records public.

Last November, a lawyer filed a complaint on behalf of a former Mercer University student who said she was raped on campus. The university denied access to police records on sexual assaults dating back to the 1990s on the grounds that it is a private institution not subject to public laws.

Mark Goodman is executive director for the Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit organization devoted to educating students about First Amendment rights and responsibilities. He said though Mercer University’s case legally sets a precedent in Georgia because it is interpreting the state open-records law there, private institutions in other states should also be concerned.

“I do think it sends a wake-up call to a lot of other private schools around the country that, ‘If you’re going to have a police force, then you’ve got to treat it like a police force,’” he said.

Goodman said if Public Safety officers are given the powers of traditional law enforcement officials, they should be covered by the Freedom of Information Law, as well. Under current information laws, police department records are available to the public upon request.

Dave Maley, director of media relations at Ithaca College, said despite the fact that Public Safety officers are deputized, records should still be considered private because the college is a private institution. He added that Public Safety does comply with all federal rules and regulations related to campus crime reporting.

“We provide information to the campus community and the outside world either verbally or through press releases that are written,” Maley said. “What we don’t release is any of the raw records.”

The Ithaca Journal submitted a freedom of information request to Cornell Police Nov. 12 in an effort to obtain records on an alleged assault that occurred after a Nov. 9 Ludacris concert at the university. Cornell denied the request, and the Journal submitted an appeal.

But Simeon Moss, deputy director of Cornell News Service, said in the course of communication Cornell chose to make the records available to The Ithaca Journal. The university maintains the decision was freely made and not forced by the Journal’s FOIL request.

“The Cornell Police is part of Cornell University, which is a private university, and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Law, which applies to government agencies,” he said.

Moss said the Cornell News Service is available to the news media nearly 24 hours a day to respond to questions about crimes and investigations and also issues press releases about public safety news. He added that Cornell Police are also available to comment to the news media from time to time.

Bruce Estes, managing editor for The Ithaca Journal, said the case involves a “clash of interests” that media and institutions sometimes encounter.

“Because it involves their police agency, and their police agency by legislative act of the state of New York are peace officers, the public has a very legitimate interest in being able to access the documents,” he said.

Estes said the case raises a “watchdog First Amendment” concern for the media.

“It’s a very defined issue for me,” he said. “I’m not trying to get access to all of Cornell University or all of Ithaca College, but I think that their police agencies are public agencies, and we should not allow them to become secret police agencies.”

Estes said The Ithaca Journal recently submitted a FOIL request to the Cornell Police asking for investigative records for the last 12 months on every sexual assault at the university.

Moss said Cornell is currently looking into the request.

“Many times the public and journalists simply have to move on,” Estes said. “You have to choose your areas carefully. I do expect to keep trying to push the issue.”

Goodman, SPLC director, said though public access to campus safety records at private institutions has been a challenge for years, not many people have expressed interest in pursuing claims in court.

“If someone at Ithaca chose to sue the school,” he said, “I wouldn’t at all be surprised if a court ruled that yes, they had to comply with the FOIL.”