By BARBARA LOMBARDO, The Saratogian
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III has called for a meeting with Skidmore College and city police to address what he called "the criminal and community consequences" of the public pot smoking on campus Monday.
Skidmore College is on the same track.
College President Philip Glotzbach, asked by The Saratogian to comment on its handling of the event, replied in an e-mail that he has asked the dean of student affairs "to reach out to our community partners to consider other approaches that will help us — in our individual and collective communities — to address the issue in the future."
The issue centers on the approximately 100 students participating with impunity in "420," a national day of public marijuana smoking April 20 on college campuses, especially at
4:20 p.m., and what the school did about it.
The head of campus security, Dennis Conway, reported that two officers checked the area where the students were congregated "several times between 4:15 p.m. and 5 p.m. I have a radio transmission from one at 4:34 p.m. stating the crowd was fine and … they did not observe any violations of law."
At that same time, a Saratogian reporter and photographer could easily see and smell marijuana, as reported Tuesday.
"The article — quite understandably — has generated significant discussion in the city and on our campus," Glotzbach said in his e-mail. "I regret that, out of a student body of some 2,400 students, the actions of a small number have raised concern within the community and reflected negatively on Skidmore College. Nevertheless, we recognize that it is important for the College to address the reported behavior."
In calling for community discussion, Glotzbach noted that "Skidmore College has a history of working collaboratively with local law enforcement, the district attorney, the Prevention Council and others specifically on the issue of drug and alcohol abuse."
The college, the district attorney and the Prevention Council will address the issue further on Sunday’s Opinion Page.
