But university administrators, lobbyists, mental health counselors and police representatives contend that the full version of ACCRA could, if passed, make, victims more reluctant to report crimes on campus.

As the case of Adam Prentice and As the case of Adam Prentice and dozens ofothers nationwide illustrate, many students andparents think colleges and universities go togreat lengths to cover up major crimes committedon their campuses with a variety of differenttechniques--from using campus judiciary boards toprosecute students, to blatantly ignoring federallaw.

To Protect and Serve

The current campus crime reporting system is agnarled motley of rewritten federal regulationsspanning more than three decades of complexcongressional legislation.

Critics charge that loopholes in the currentlaw allow institutions to mask certain types ofviolent crimes and to drastically underreportso-called quality of life crimes, such as drug andalcohol policy violations.

But most colleges and universities say thesystem in place to monitor campus crime is astough as it needs to be, and that ACCRA's passagewould paradoxically have a dangerous and stiflingeffect on the reporting of certain types ofcrimes.

If it becomes law, experts say ACCRA would havetwo primary effects. First, it would increase thenumber of drug and alcohol offenses that collegesreport in their crime statistics. Colleges are notcurrently required to report violations of drugand alcohol policies, only arrests.

ACCRA would make, for example the late-nightHUPD bust of a first-year booze subject toDepartment of Education scrutiny.

Second, and of more concern to the law'sopponents, it could substantially change the waymost colleges and universities handle internaldisciplinary procedures.

The proceedings of the Board, long known forits exemplary and secretive tribunals, would findits proceedings open to public scrutiny whenstudents are called to answer allegations thatwould constitute criminal charges in the outsideworld.

Several states, most of them in the South, haverequired that schools open their administrativetribunals.

Georgia's supreme Court ruled in 1993 thatcampus judiciary records are public informationand not fully protected by student privacy laws.

But this prospect alarms Harvard administratorsto such a degree that the university's toplobbyist, Kevin A. Casey, has followed theday-to-day progress of ACCRA as it meanderedthrough congressional subcommittees and plans todo the same next year.

"It would have a overall chilling effect intimes when [victims and witnesses] would want tocome forward," Casey said from his Washingtonoffice.

What troubles Casey the most about ACCRA areits provisions making more college officialsresponsible for acting on crime reports that cometheir way.

"In some analyses, it could rope in literallythousands of people on campus who are required topass along information," he said. "That is toobroad a reporting regime," he said.