Local laws still apply, even at Club Midd Town Police Chief explains why the College does not insulate students from local, state and federal laws

Author: Joshua Carson

Walking with an open container of beer, a Middlebury College student was stopped on campus by a Middlebury Police Department (MPD) officer last fall. The officer drove up and asked, "What's in your hand?" to which the underage student, who wishes to remain anonymous, answered the officer truthfully. According to the party involved, the officer called Public Safety to confirm the student's identity, administered a breath test, cited the student for violating an open container ordinance and a Vermont law forbidding underage drinking and then left the student in the custody of a friend.

"I always thought it was separate [the College and the town]," the student said in a recent interview. "I thought there was an implicit agreement with the police that we [the College] handle this. You stay out of it."

While these types of incidents, by all accounts, are limited, they illustrate a general misconception by students who view the College and its property as a sort of asylum in which outside laws and regulations do not necessarily apply.

This is an easy trap to fall into as the College, in essence, has created its own functioning legislative, executive and judicial system. The administration establishes the rules, both academic and social, which are delineated in the College Handbook. A private security force is employed to respond to and investigate incidents on campus and a judicial system is in place to interpret the rules and to reprimand students accordingly.

But as Middlebury Police Chief Thomas Hanley stated, "the campus does not insulate you from the law," whether that law is local, state or federal.

At its most basic level, the College is private property. While there are specific emergency plans for the College regarding issues like crowd control and special event coordination, the police force treats all residents, permanent or temporary, equally. Hanley describes the MPD's relationship with the College and college students as no different than with anyone else.

Echoing this sentiment, Lisa Boudah, associate dean of Student Affairs and director of Public Safety, reiterated that the College is private land. "Just because you own the property, does not mean you can commit a crime on it," she said.

Both Boudah and Hanley described the relationship between the College and the MPD as one of mutual support and exchange of information. Oftentimes the MPD will contact the College to confirm a student's identity and contact information or to alert the College of a noise complaint from student housing.

Public Safety will request support from the MPD in case of a serious crime or volatile activity involving a gun, armed robbery, serious injury or a missing person as the Public Safety officers are neither properly trained nor equipped to intercede or investigate those types of incidents.

The lines of communication between the two agencies, while not necessarily used often, are well established. Hanley recognizes that Middlebury students are not "angels with halo's" but if a student commits a criminal offense or is disrespectful to the community, and is thus in violation of the College's internal code of conduct, the police will notify Public Safety.

"If things ever happen, we would like to know about them," said Boudah, who then pointed out that language in the College Handbook specifically states that students are members of a broader Middlebury community and if it is determined by College authorities that students pose a risk to that community, they can be suspended, dismissed or required to withdraw.

"Unfortunately," Hanley noted, "many issues arise as a result of excessive drinking and disorderly conduct."

Hanley reaffirmed that underage drinking is illegal whether it happens on public or private property. Police officers do not venture on to College property unless requested by Public Safety, or if cutting from Route 125 to Route 30 as, according to Hanley, "It would be like patrolling someone's backyard." But if officers see something that requires intervention, the law compels them to get involved.

How the officer proceeds depends on the situation and the age of the perpetrator. For a minor student suspected of drinking alcohol, the officer will request to perform a personal breath test. A minor may refuse to submit to the test, but "if you stink like booze, your eyes are red and you exhibit signs of alcohol, you can be ticketed," said Hanley.

Officers would like to register a reading greater than a 0.02 on the breath test, but they are not required to quantify a minor's blood alcohol level. They just need evidence that the minor has consumed alcohol.

Officers are also sometimes equipped with microphones that can pick up any slurring of speech to record the interaction. Hanley emphasized that this protocol is consistent for minors on private or public property or in a car.

"We are always glad to see when they [minors] have designated drivers, but the law compels us to act," he said.

The law is significantly different for adults operating a motor vehicle. By having a drivers license, an adult driver implicitly consents to a battery of tests if an officer suspects intoxication. In the case of a refusal, a licensed-adult can be charged for driving under the influence, assessed a fine for refusing the test and be arrested.

Above all, Hanley hopes the police department is viewed as a municipal service for every Middlebury resident, whether permanent or temporary. The MPD has helped students in the past with filming movies and research as well as provided demographic statistics. "I hope we are looked at as a resource for overall safety," he said.