Following the arrest of two men who traveled to the College with the band RaRaM de NY, the band returned the money the College paid them to perform and sent a letter apologizing that the men, who were not official members of the band, stole laptops and backpacks from Psi Upsilon fraternity.
In the letter, the band thanked the College for the opportunity to perform and took responsibility for "letting people that were not trustworthy come to the show."
The men arrested last Thursday were not officially affiliated with the band and were friends of the band's road manager, said Max St. Arromand, the band's spokesperson.
"They were given a check after they performed, for fulfilling that obligations and they held a meeting with all of the musicians when they were back in New York and they collectively decided that as a gesture of good will they would return the honorary," said Chelsey Kivland, a McKennan Postdoctoral Fellow who had invited the band to come to the College.
Students spotted both Fredson and Charles performing with the band during Wednesday's show in Collis Common Ground and in classes that the band had visited throughout the day. St. Arromand confirmed that the two were in the performances but said that neither of them are on the official band roster.
The band manager had invited the two men to travel to Hanover without the knowledge or consent of the other band members, St. Arromand said.
"It was a misjudgment, a miscalculation of his part to allow these individuals to follow us," he said.
Kivland said the men were not formally invited to the College.
"They came with the band unannounced," Kivland said. "They were placed under the supervision of the band manager."
The manager was dismissed from his position as a result of the incident.
The band members, who stayed at the Hanover Inn, were unaware that Fredson and Charles were inside Psi U's house on Wednesday night until two community members informed them about the thefts.
The band cooperated with the Hanover Police and allowed them to search their rooms and bags.
"From 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. everybody was at the hotel sleeping so, to be honest, I really didn't know anything that was happening," St. Arromand said. Kivland and St. Arromand said apart from the incident, they thought that RaRaM de NY's event was a success.
"It's important to remember that the band came to campus and they gave a really great performance," Kivland said. "They visited three classes, which provided really illuminating and engaging educational experiences for students. I can't tell you how many [students and faculty members] have commented about how much they appreciated the visit, about how much they learned about Haitian culture."
St. Arromand said RaRaM de NY said the band members will change how they act and who they invite to future events.
"We're gonna make some changes as far as when we do go on road trips of this grand magnitude, what we're going to make sure that we revise the code of conduct," he said. "An incident like this will not happen again."
While Fredson's and Charles' behavior was upsetting, Kivland hopes it does not undermine the work that the band does and the message that it aims to convey.
"I'm obviously really distraught over this incident, I'm happy that the property was returned, and you know glad that no one was hurt, but I don't want to let the actions of these two individuals overshadow the really amazing works that this group has done," she said.
Hanover Police Captain Frank Moran did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
