Image courtesy of CottonBro Studio
At the beginning of every new school year, Skidmore College students relish in the last of Saratoga’s summer warmth. In those initial weeks of the semester, academic assignments have not yet accumulated and the weather has not yet been abducted by an autumnal chill. Returning students reunite with friends and spend their Saturday nights at well-loved local venues. Many first-years attend college parties for the first time.
This fall, however, those blissful weekends were interrupted on September 25, when Skidmore students awoke — many of them after a night out — to an alarming message in their inbox. The email, sent by the College’s Office of Campus Safety, reported a suspected drink drugging at a downtown establishment.
Since then, two additional, nearly identical announcements have been issued by Campus Safety. The alerts were issued via email on October 2 and October 17, accompanied by flyers posted across campus. Each report provides cursory information about the incident: the location at which it occurred and the time frame in which the reporting individual believed they were drugged.
Any instance of suspected drugging is distressing, but the rapid succession of reports was especially disturbing. In order to uncover more information about the pattern, the Skidmore News spoke with the Skidmore College Director of Campus Safety, Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner, and the owner of a local establishment. These conversations have been summarized for length and clarity.
Tim Munro, Director of Campus Safety
Director of Campus Safety Tim Munro repeatedly stressed that the department’s greatest concern is the safety and wellbeing of the student body. Safety alerts, he said, are the most effective way to disseminate information to students “so that they might protect themselves.” The emails are sent in a timely manner, he noted. In most cases, the alerts are issued the day after the individual suspects were drugged, the same day the report is received.
In every case, reporting individuals describe becoming more lethargic and sluggish than expected in relation to the amount of alcohol they had consumed.
Munro laid out the criteria to file a report. For one, the reporting individual must explicitly state that they believe that they were drugged. An alert is not issued for excessive intoxication, for example, if the reporting individual does not use the word “drugging” or “drugged” in their statement. Munro emphasized that the information included in a safety alert relies entirely upon what information the individual is willing to give to Campus Safety. As a result, Munro described, reporting requires some judgment and scrutiny on the part of Campus Safety. In every instance, however, the office strives to “honor the reporting person’s requests” to the best of their ability.
Oftentimes, the reporting individual does not want to involve police. Discomfort with law enforcement, in part, is why no reports have been followed up with forensic testing. In order to confirm the presence of drugs in an individual’s system, testing would have to be initiated by local law enforcement and outsourced to a private laboratory. The process, Munro described, is infrequent, lengthy, and expensive, even if an individual was interested in providing a urine sample.
In general, those who issue reports of suspected druggings share with Munro the goal of informing the student body and are uninterested in pursuing the case further. According to Munro, only one individual has made a statement with local police and one individual visited Saratoga Hospital for treatment. No investigations remain open in the Campus Safety online record-keeping system.
Munro noted that the frequency of these reports is unprecedented in his time in the position. He described the pattern as “alarming.” Skidmore is a member of a consortium of six campus safety offices at Upstate New York colleges. Communication with colleagues at other institutions has led Munro to believe that the reporting of drink drugging incidents is unique to Saratoga, with seemingly no explanation.
James Montagnino, Public Safety Commissioner
In an email exchange, Saratoga Springs’ Commissioner of Public Safety, James Montagnino, acknowledged a pattern of suspected drink druggings over the past few months, citing one example as early as the summertime.
Following one reported suspected drink drugging this summer, Montagnino approached the owner of a local bar at which the incident occurred. During their exchange, the business owner described the tendency of younger patrons to “pre-game” by consuming their own alcohol before entering the bar. The phenomenon, the owner described to Montagnino, results in individuals entering the bar seemingly sober but “exhibit signs of being intoxicated some time later”. Though they may only purchase one drink inside, the aggregate effects of “pre-gaming” cause the person to become more drunk. According to Montagnino, “The bar owner thus opined that claims of drugging could be explained as the result of ‘pre-gaming’ instead.”
Montagnino described his communication with Skidmore Campus Safety as limited. However, in his role as the city’s Safety Commissioner, he works closely with local law enforcement. While Munro recognized the reluctance of individuals to bring their reports to the police, Montagnino expounded the department and upbraided those who are uncomfortable with the prospect of police involvement. “It is an unfortunate fact that many people, including members of the Skidmore student community, feel a reluctance to communicate directly with our Police Department”, he wrote in an email. “If they did, they might discover that our Officers are extremely well trained, approachable and interested in serving all members of our community.”
Local Business Owner
Two of the reports made this semester are associated with a popular local venue. The owner requested that their identity, along with that of the business, remain anonymous.
The business owner was quick to deflect the venue’s responsibility, and in fact expressed frustration with Skidmore Campus Safety. The business owner described the lack of toxicological testing as negligent.
The individual, who has spent a long career in the nightclub industry, indicated that the suspected druggings in Saratoga Springs are just a few instances in what they believe to be a recent global uptick in reported drink druggings. I was not able to find any evidence to corroborate nor disprove this claim.
In response to the trend, the business owner told me that the establishment has appointed designated security guards to monitor patrons. The guards are trained specifically to observe for warning signs of individuals committing or affected by drink drugging. The business’ entire staff has also undergone training about drink drugging prevention and surveillance, according to the owner.
Conclusion
The conversations I conducted with Campus Safety, a local representative, and business owner, respectively, indicate tension between the three parties. The issue is particularly complicated because the incidents have occurred off campus. Jurisdiction lines are blurry and communication between the departments is meager, at best. What is certain is that Skidmore students and the larger Saratoga Springs community may be at risk of having their drink drugged. When going out, look out for symptoms of drugging, including drowsiness, dizziness, slurring, and nausea. You can protect yourself and your friends by always buying your own drinks, observing them being made, never leaving your drink unattended, and disposing of drinks that taste strange.