Opinion ID: 2074
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Events on Campus the Weekend of February 4-6, 2005

Text: On Friday night and early Saturday morning, February 4-5, 2005, Paul Smith students held a bonfire party on the lake, which was visible and audible from campus. Defendant Toni Marra, Paul Smith's Director of Residence Life, and campus safety officer Jamie Shova observed [a] large fire, yelling and screaming, and contacted the State Police. Pl.'s.App. 140. A little later, Shova saw a truck doing donuts (driving quickly in a tight circle) on the ice of the lake. By the time the State Police arrived, the party had dispersed; a trooper told campus security to call the State Police immediately if they observed any unsafe or illegal behavior. Pl.'s App. 58. Shova later saw the same truck and confronted the driver, who acknowledged having drunk eight to ten beers. Although Marra confiscated the driver's keys, she instructed Shova not to call the State Police. The following night, the night of February 5, students again threw a party centered around a bonfire on the lake, located about 50 to 75 yards from the shore and in view of the main campus and of various dormitories. The fire was built with wood that students brought from the College's forestry cabin. Because of the cold temperature, students would frequently return to the dormitories to warm up, before heading back onto the lake. The party was apparently a raucous affair, with beer freely available to the crowd of students, both of legal drinking age and below. By one estimate, the party at its peak had between eighty and one hundred students present, and there were as many as twenty snowmobiles driving around the lake. Shortly before midnight, a snowmobile carrying two students crashed into a tree; the students were unharmed. A little while later, Campus Safety received a report of the snowmobile crash. Although they were informed that there were no injuries, Marra and Shova went to the lake around 12:45 a.m. Shova believed that the party was getting out of control, but Marra instructed him not to attempt to shut it down or take any disciplinary actions as it would cause a riot. Pl.'s App. 60, 85. Instead, the two stayed at the party for about fifteen minutes, then advised the students to be safe, keep the speed down, and call [Campus Safety] if there was [sic] any problems. Pl.'s App. 60.