Nashville, TN-Deaths and rapes on Tennessee's college and university campuses would be investigated by local police rather than campus police under legislation introduced last week in the General Assembly by state Rep. Nathan Vaughn (D-Kingsport) and state Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville).

The bill, prompted by the death of a student last March at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, would ensure that campus communities benefit from the experience and forensic resources of city police and county sheriff's departments according to campus safety advocates.

The "Robert 'Robbie' Nottingham Campus Crime Scene Investigation Act of 2004" (HB 2753, SB 2797) is named in memory of the student who died at ETSU, and was developed by his parents, Jim and Mary, after questions were raised about the thoroughness of the investigation undertaken by campus authorities.

Robbie Nottingham died from head trauma apparently caused by a fall from the second story of an on-campus apartment building, but authorities have been unable to conclusively determine what happened the night he died and his family believes foul play may have been involved. The family is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for his death.

"A tragedy helped craft this," Jim Nottingham said. "I hope that in some way, the kids who are not born yet are safer because of my son's death. At some schools, safety has taken a back seat. My son's education is not doing him a bit of good. Our kids need to be safe. It's too late for him. I'm a Christian, I believe he's in heaven, and I believe I will see him again."

The legislation is "very commonsensical," said Connie Clery a national campus safety advocate, and co-founder of the national non-profit victims' rights group Security On Campus, Inc. SOC, founded by Clery and her husband Howard after their daughter Jeanne was murdered at a Pennsylvania college in 1986, is the only national organization devoted to promoting safer campuses and has been assisting the Nottingham family since shortly after Robbie's death.