Brian Arty gears up for Jessica's Law speech

By Frank Visco
Collegian Editor
November 15, 2006

A communication major ambitiously trekked all over campus Thursday, Nov. 9, posting signs for a program his fraternity Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) is co-sponsoring in conjunction with the Programming Center and the Division of Student Affairs.

Communication major Brian Arty shown here with his godson and cousin, organized a
speech and panel about the Jessica Lundsford Act - Courtesy of Brian Arty/Junior

A day later, dressed comfortably in basketball pants and a gray hoodie emblazoned with the logo for his high school football team, junior Brian Arty seems at ease. In the depths of the Union building, he sits in the Collegian office fully prepared to talk about this Thursday’s coming program: “The Jessica Lunsford Act: Protecting our Children from Sex Offenders.”

During free period Thursday, Arty, 21, will be giving a speech in the Dan Rodden Theatre advocating Jessica’s Law. Named after Jessica Lunsford, a nine-year-old who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in the spring of 2005 by a previous convicted sex offender, the law calls for mandatory minimum sentences for convicted child sex offenders.

Currently 40 states have passed or are on their way to passing the law; Pennsylvania is not among them. However, in some states such as Florida, the mandatory minimum sentence has been set as high as 25 years, and GPS tracking devices have been placed on sex offenders to keep track of whether or not they are near playgrounds, schools or other areas populated by children.

“I’m basically going to tell Jessica’s story and go over the last days of her life to advocate for the law and encourage the rest of the states, especially Pennsylvania, to pass it,” Arty said. “The goal is to get this message out to as many people as possible.”

The speech will be followed by a question and answer session with a panel made up of Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, Pennsylvania State Rep. Dennis O’Brien (R-169th) and La Salle Security and Safety Director Art Grover.

While the panel is seen as an integral part of the program, it was Arty’s growing interest and passion for the law that jumpstarted the whole event. The process started months ago, but he never imagined just how much work it would entail.

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Arty, who is also an American Studies minor, initially heard about Lunsford’s story in the spring of 2005. For the next year or so, he became intensely interested in the case and watched as Mark Lunsford, Jessica’s father, went from state to state in an attempt to get the law passed. He kept track of what states were passing the law and which ones were not.

“When I heard the story, I was disturbed and angered by it,” Arty said. “I did some background homework and eventually I was inspired by the work of Jessica’s dad. I thought ‘if he can go state to state, I can do my part to spread the word here at La Salle.’”

Arty came up with the idea of giving a speech, but he had no idea what he would have to do to make it happen. That’s when he contacted Dr. Joseph Cicala, Dean of Students. In late July, Arty sent Cicala an e-mail indicating he was interested in giving a speech on Jessica’s Law.

Cicala liked the idea to begin with because he saw it as a “significant subject matter.” However, while he recognized that Arty was “knowledgeable and passionate about the topic,” he saw the possible seeds for a program much larger than a speech.

“I saw the possibility for more learning for the community, and Brian was immediately receptive to that,” Cicala said

According to Arty, he and Cicala cooked up the idea of a panel to accompany the speech in August. Cicala referred Arty to three professors: Edward Turzanski and Dr. Mary Ellen Balchunis-Harris from the Political Science Department and Bonnie Zetick from the Social Work Department. The three of them advised Arty on who he might consider bringing in for the panel.

La Salle’s Assistant Vice President for Government and Community Relations, Turzanski, used his connections to get both Abraham and O’Brien, a La Salle grad, to come to the university. To Arty, it was important to get both Democratic (Abraham) and Republican (O’Brien) representation on the panel.

“I wanted both parties represented because as divided as our country is right now, I think this issue of protecting children is one that all Americans can agree on,” he said.

Arty then contacted Grover for help in looking to get a member of the police force to sit on the panel. As it turned out, Grover, a retired captain of the Philadelphia Police Department, was knowledgeable on the subject matter and became the third panelist.

Arty also contacted representatives at the Joseph J. Peters Institute, a rehabilitation center for sex offenders, in an effort to provide a balanced viewpoint to the panel. However, although the institute showed some initial interest, they wound up blowing Arty off. Arty is upset that there won’t be an “opposing view” in the panel to encourage more in-depth debate, but is satisfied with the panelists he had confirmed.

However, while Arty managed to successfully garner several top-notch panelists, scheduling a date on which to hold the event proved extremely problematic.

“It was a lot more difficult than I anticipated,” he said. “To get two busy politicians here on the same day at the same time was hard to do. Luckily, it worked out.”

Arty’s work did not stop with suring up panelists. He spent significant time writing and rewriting his speech with the help of Communication professor Huntly Collins and practicing the delivery of his speech with Brooks Aylor communication professor and director of the Public Speaking Program. In addition, he mentioned the minor details, such as reserving the Dan Rodden Theatre, getting parking passes for the panelists, reserving seats, working with the Programming Center and Food Services and getting name tags, as extremely time consuming.

“There is much that goes into a program tat hI didn’t even think about,” he said. “It’s been a long journey.”

For his part, Cicala is very impressed with Brian taking suggestions and incorporating them into his idea to take the program to the next level.

“I’m proud of Brian and the work he did,” he said. “This is a substantial issue, and I’m really proud as dean, as a teacher, as an alumnus and as a member of the community, that a student has brought this to the fore and raised it for scholarly dialogue. It is so far superior to bringing in guest lecturers or doing other things because it is a student- led event.”

Conversely, Arty acknowledges that he had a lot of helpfrom professors, from his fraternity and, most of all, from Cicala.

“He was a huge support and his reliance really got me through it all when I would think about all the work that still needed to be done,” he said. “He walked me through the process step-by-step and that’s what makes La Salle what it is. The Dean of Students as a partner, I don’t think that would happen at Penn State or Pittsburgh.”

*****

Leaning forward on the maroon couch just inside of the Collegian office, Arty quietly reflecting on exactly why the story of Jessica Lunsford inspired him to put months of work into Thursday’s coming program.

He acknowledges that his fervor may be due in part to the fact that a family member of his was the victim of a child sex offender some years ago, but he respectfully declines to go further on the issue. For Arty, what it comes down to is an issue between right and wrong, something he says his parents worked hard to instill in him as a youth.

“It reflects the values and everything else my parents instilled in me from day one,” he said. “I want to get the word out on this issue, so that we can promote similar values in society.”

That being said, Arty’s voice lets on to a sense of nervousness in having to give his speech to an audience that includes his friends, fraternity brothers and family. However, the conviction in his heart overshadows any fear he might be having.

“I’m 50 percent excited and 50 percent head spinning,” he said. “It’s been so much more than I anticipated, and after months of preparation, it’s finally here. I’ve never addressed a crowd of this size before, but I believe in my message, and look forward to Thursday.”

viscof1@lasalle.edu