On the evening of Saturday, March 3, two students reported to Safety & Security that a piece of frayed rope was observed in a tree on the pathway near the ALANA Center, the Old Laundry Building and the Powerhouse Theater. The rope was removed by Safety & Security and a report was forwarded to several administrators. Additionally, the Bias Incident Response Team was contacted and the Dean of the College toured the area thoroughly and documented all secured and unsecured ropes in the vicinity. The Director of the ALANA Center and the Associate Dean of the College/Coordinator of BIRT contacted students to obtain more information, photos were taken, and the report was reviewed. While there is no indication that the rope was due to foul play or signifies an act of bias and was possibly due to the previous day's windstorm, it is important for the campus to know about this report. If anyone has anything additional to report, please contact Safety and Security at 845-437-7333.
Update of Saturday, March 3 report: Similar rope was found in the Powerhouse Theater.
On Tuesday, March 6, a student reported to an administrator that they noticed twine rope in trees near the Aula. Safety and Security were notified and Town Police investigated. It was determined that the twine had been there prior to the Saturday report. Safety and Security later rreported that the twine was affiliated with an Earth Science/Geography majors project involving pine cones, peanut butter and bird study.
Students in both reportings were contacted by administrators with resource support and by Safety and Security with updated information relating to the investigation.
Note: BIRT log entries may be updated and amended as additional information emerges.
