By MAREESA NICOSIA
mnicosia@mail.saratogian.com

Published: Friday, May 1, 2009
The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College officials vowed Thursday to act differently on April 20, 2010, although they were unspecific about how.

Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III met with Skidmore administrators, Saratoga Springs Chief of Police Ed Moore and Saratoga Springs City School District Superintendent Janice White, among others, in a closed-door session to discuss drug use and prevention in the community.

Murphy called for the meeting in response to an article published in The Saratogian on April 21, which reported that about 100 Skidmore students had gathered on the campus lawn the day before to smoke marijuana and mark the unofficial national holiday known as 420.

"I called for the meeting because I was concerned about the original article," Murphy said Thursday. "I thought that it was very disturbing. I thought it would be best to as quickly as possible get the relevant parties to the table to address this issue … but most importantly, to make sure Skidmore students understand that no one is above the law."

No charges were made as a result of the gathering, and Campus Safety reported that no students were cited. Murphy said that Campus Safety officers and police were in a difficult position to cite students for smoking. "Despite their best efforts, they were not able to get in a position to secure evidence," he said.

He added that after examining photos of the event and hearing reports from Campus Safety, it was impossible to make charges after the fact because necessary evidence such as the actual substance or blood tests were not available.

However, Murphy and others at the meeting discussed ways a similar situation might be handled by the college and police in the future.

"We’re going to fully make sure that in 2010, it’s an entirely different experience," Murphy said, adding that the message he hoped to impart to the community was that illegal drugs are not tolerated and that those found possessing or using them will face significant consequences.

Skidmore College Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun said the college would be "going in with a greater awareness next year." While she didn’t offer concrete details of a plan for April 20, 2010, she said the meeting was productive. The discussion touched on what did and didn’t work in the college’s response to the event, Calhoun said.

"We did have uniformed officers with a visible presence," she said.

When asked why no students were cited for smoking marijuana, which is a violation of the college’s drug policy, Calhoun said "Uniformed officers were not able to observe" any violations of the school’s drug policy or of the law. "Beyond that I can’t tell you," she said, then paused. "I can’t tell you," she repeated.

Calhoun said the college plans to work on ways in which students can continue to have a positive influence on the community, and will continue to provide them with educational information on drug use.

Chief Moore said he couldn’t comment on how the police department might deploy officers on any future date, including April 20, 2010.

"In the last 10 years at Skidmore this department has responded to 15 total calls on April 20; of those, none of them ever involved drugs," Moore said. "There has never been a problem that would cause us concern."

In addition to Moore and White, attendees at the meeting included Courtney Lamport of the Partnership for Prevention, New York state police, Skidmore student Michael Elmo, the director of the county’s school truancy prevention program, and representatives from several community not-for-profits.

When asked about their thoughts following the meeting, White and Lamport both said it was "productive," but declined to comment further.