As Student Return, So Does Typical College Mischief

A Honda Pilot utilized by Marist Security. Source: Marist Security

In a recent interview, Marist Director of Safety and Security John Blaisdell disclosed various security incidents that took place during the first week of classes. 

On Aug. 30, a Marist student was caught smoking marijuana near Lavelle Hall. The case is now under judicial review. 

“You can’t have drugs on campus for two reasons,” Blaisdell said. “One, it’s against the law in the state of New York; and two, in order for us to accept federal money, we need to have a drug-free environment policy in place.”

There were multiple incidents of “forgery” within the first week of classes. As Blaisdell explains, the majority of the cases classified under “forgery” involve the possession of fake IDs by students. “Generally, what happens is wallets and purses get lost; we go through to find out who they belong to in order to return it. There’s usually two driver’s licenses in there: one is fake, and one is real,” Blaisdell explained. 

One forgery incident in particular that stands out in week one is the discovery of a counterfeit $100 bill found on a podium in one of the Marist classrooms. “I don’t know if it was a prop... I didn’t look at it, but it was turned in here,” Blaisdell said. 

The one incident of criminal mischief reported thus far was the removal of elevator buttons in Lavelle Hall on Sept. 2. The offender has since been caught. 

Multiple criminal incidents occurred on Sept. 8. The first was near Leo Hall, in which two students were caught having stolen a golf cart after attempting to evade pursuit and then crashing it. The two students in question have been turned over to Student Conduct for their behavior and are expected to reimburse the damage to the golf cart. 

Also, on Sept. 8, a student reported that a Marist sweatshirt had been stolen from their laundry. The investigation is now closed. 

The third incident that took place on Sept. 8 was the theft of a student’s backpack and its contents outside of the Steel Plant building. This crime is still being investigated. 

According to Blaisdell, the current crime rate at the week three mark is not abnormally high. “It’s been about what it is every year,” Blaisdell said. “Generally speaking, students are well-behaved; this is just the type of stuff we deal with.”