A federal law requires colleges and universities to report the number of major crimes that occur on their campuses each year, but critics say the data fail to give a complete picture of offenses committed by or against students, particularly sexual assaults. On the whole, college students are safer than their nonstudent counterparts. Still, the annual data don't include many off-campus crimes and others not reported by victims. What's more, the law, known as the Clery Act, exempts campus counselors from having to report the number of alleged sexual assaults and other possible crimes students tell them about. Critics argue that some administrators resist disclosing the extent of campus crimes to protect the image of their institutions. But some college officials are acknowledging the perils of campus crime and putting new emphasis on teaching students to head off potential danger. They are focusing in part on binge drinking, which has been shown to have a strong link to sexual assaults.

Peter Katel is a CQ Researcher contributing writer who previously reported on Haiti and Latin America for Time and Newsweek and covered the Southwest for newspapers in New Mexico. He has received several journalism awards, including the Bartolomé Mitre Award for drug coverage from the Inter-American Press Association and awards for investigative and interpretive reporting from the New Mexico Press Association. He holds an A.B. in university studies from the University of New Mexico.