Green Key arrests by the Hanover Police Department rose to 22 this past weekend, up from 17 last year and down from 34 in 2014.
Five arrests for disorderly conduct were made on Thursday, 11 were made on Friday, four on Saturday and two on Sunday morning. However, of the 11 arrests that occurred on Friday night, eight were not Dartmouth students. On Saturday, three of the four people arrested were students at the College, while neither of the two arrests on Sunday were students.
Saturday morning, Safety and Security sent out an email to campus reporting that a sexual assault occurred in a residential room on the north side of campus on Friday night between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. The female victim and reported male perpetrator are both students. After speaking with the victim and conducting a preliminary investigation, Safety and Security director Harry Kinne determined that he should send out a “timely warning” to inform campus of the incident.
Hanover Police Department later received information from the College stating that an anonymous sexual assault had occurred. Discussing Title IX rules and sexual assault investigations, Hanover Chief of Police Charlie Dennis said that once a sexual assault is reported, it is up to the victim to decide what they want to do. A victim can come forward to the school, declare anonymity or talk to law enforcement as they see fit, Dennis said.
“They can decide for us to pursue that case as a criminal matter, or they may decide they don’t want to do that yet,” he said. “Also, a person can decide they want to have a sexual assault kit tested, and will still be completely granted anonymity.”
Kinne reported that from Friday morning to Monday morning there were a total of 88 reports filed — including medical emergencies, illnesses, accidents and intoxication. Around 20 situations occurred where Safety and Security officers responded to intoxicated individuals. A majority of these incidents involved Dartmouth students, he said. Kinne reported that five to 10 people went to Dick’s House for alcohol related medical attention and about eight to 10 people went to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. A small proportion of these numbers were not Dartmouth students, but non-Dartmouth attendees at the Green Key concerts.
According to Kinne, Safety and Security saw a number of instances where alcohol was involved but the individuals in question were not intoxicated enough to require medical attention. In these situations, Safety and Security officers did “turn overs” to sober individuals.
“Generally, we take people to Dick’s House but this weekend, Dick’s House was very busy and our officers and EMS were able to determine that the person did not need emergency medical attention,” Kinne said.
There were also reports from Safety and Security officers at Late Night Collis about individuals taking food without paying.
“The material was confiscated and the student was charged for whatever amount of food there was,” Kinne said.
Reports were then written on the situation and those reports were referred to Judicial Affairs.
Ben Robbins, a Collis worker, said that Late Night theft occurs on most big weekends, which is why Safety and Security officers are necessary to monitor food displays at peak hours.
Robbins also commented that students sometimes open the doors at the back of Collis, which are closed during late night hours to prevent theft.
“I’ve watched a kid get their food and then put it on the corner of the salad bar, wait a few and then go to the door and walk out with it,” he said.
Safety and Security coordinated with Hanover Police and Fire Departments in addition to student activities groups for the weekend. Extra patrols and staff attended the events, including the concerts. Staffing levels were taken into consideration by both Hanover Police and Safety and Security.
Kinne commented that there was a noticeable decrease in noise complaints related to Friday’s afternoon block party on Webster Avenue and evening concert on Gold Coast Lawn. He partially attributed this to a memo that notified the surrounding Hanover community members about the activities.
Alexa Green is a junior from Boca Raton, FL. She is majoring in English, with minors in Arabic and Public Policy. After joining the newspaper her freshman winter, she served as a beat reporter covering Hanover & the Upper Valley. Following this position, Alexa became the associate managing news editor. Outside of the newsroom, she is a tour guide on campus, works for the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, and conducts research in the English department. During her off term, Alexa worked for I.B.Tauris, an independent publishing house in London, U.K., editing and publicizing international relations and politics books. She is passionate about the ways in which policy, current events, history and journalism have interconnected roles in defining global issues.
