SCOPE OF CANNABIS CELEBRATIONS VARY AS CAMPUSES PREPARE FOR '4-20'

SARATOGA SPRINGS - What began as four high school students meeting
after practice in 1971 to look for a rumored plot of marijuana
plants grew into a celebration now ubiquitous among cannabis
consumers across the nation as "4-20."

At 4:20 p.m. on April 20, college students across the country light
up the illicit substance, whether rolled into cigarettes, packed
into pipes, or in at least one case, contained within a large, pink,
paper-mache octopus.

The latter was seen near Skidmore College's Haupt Pond last year as
some students smoked in plain sight of faculty and campus safety
officials. Outrage over reports of their behavior prompted the
school to take action and hold a series of meetings with
officials from the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Saratoga
Springs City School District, the Saratoga County Alcohol and
Substance Abuse Prevention Council and Saratoga County District
Attorney James A. Murphy III.

"The meetings have been a good way to recommit our efforts," Murphy
said last week.

Skidmore, ranked second last year on The Princeton Review's "reefer
madness" list, isn't the only campus to garner attention for the
illegal spring exhibition. In 2009, the school joined the University
of California at Santa Cruz, Bard College, the University of Vermont
and the University of Colorado at Boulder in a list of the top five
institutions perceived as being the most pot-predominant.

There is no specific criterion that addresses public cannabis
consumption on April 20, and the "reefer madness" schools have had
varying experiences with the event.

"That's a rather spurious review," an unidentified Bard College
public relations employee said of the ranking. She said she wasn't
sure the school had an official stance on the event and referred
comment to an official who was unavailable for comment by press
time. Bard topped the "reefer madness" list in 2008.

"(Institutions) tend to endorse our rankings as very accurate if
they view something as a positive," said Seamus Mullarkey, senior
editor of Princeton Review's "Best 371 Colleges." "They tend to
question the validity if they view something as a negative."

Most of the data used for the rankings come from an online survey
where participants must register with a valid school e-mail address
before submitting answers. The ranking is based on how students
answer the survey question, "How widely is marijuana used at your school?"

"Student gatherings at the University of Vermont on April 20 have
gotten smaller and smaller over the last decade, and in the last
several years there has been no activity at all," said Thomas
Gustafson, the college's vice president for student and campus life.
"We are dubious of the results," he said of their Princeton Review rank.

"It's a bunch of people walking around smoking pot and high-fiving
each other," said University of Colorado at Boulder media relations
director Bronson Hilliard. An alumnus of the school, Hilliard said
the reputation of Boulder as a vacation spot, combined with Internet
publicity, has turned the display into an occasion dreaded by
faculty and students alike.

A state university of 30,000 students, the school has seen
attendance at their "4-20" display grow from a few hundred
participants five years ago to around 10,000 last year.

Cameron Naish, a University of Colorado senior and managing editor
of the school's student newspaper, said that while he didn't think
the event was a hazard, when the clock hits 4:20 p.m., those passing
by do experience psychoactive effects due to second-hand smoke. "If
I was worried about passing a drug test, it would make me nervous," he said.

Hilliard expressed frustration over the lack of media attention two
years ago when the school received an award from the White House for
being among those schools with outstanding records of community
service. "Absolutely," he said when asked if the event negatively
affects the reputation of the school.

"We've tried a number of different strategies to disperse the crowd,
but none of them were effective and some were even
counterproductive," he said of measures that included taking photos
of the crowd and turning sprinklers on during the event.

For the past three years, the university has sent out a campus-wide
e-mail notifying students that the display is unsanctioned and
unlawful, but must be tolerated to maintain order among the crowd.

"Skidmore students are role models, and whether they accept it or
not, they need to understand that," Skidmore College's Dean of
Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun said Thursday. On Friday, Calhoun
sent an e-mail to students outlining state law, school policy and
the consequences students will face if they are caught possessing
the drug on April 20. As a new policy measure, tents and other
enclosures are prohibited for use that day.

"As long as the law of the land in New York state is what it is and
our policies are what they are, we need to uphold them," she said.
"I don't see a middle ground."

District Attorney Murphy said that campus safety officials often
call Saratoga Springs police to make arrests, and that substance
abuse counseling is mandatory as a condition for the dismissal of a
first-time unlawful possession of marijuana violation.

"High school students are looking to college students as role
models," said Judy Ekman, executive director of the Alcohol and
Substance Abuse Prevention Council. She went on to praise those
Skidmore students who take the time to volunteer for her
organization and other groups with which the school has established
records of service by students.

"In real terms, at 4:20 in the afternoon, they're in class," she
said of the majority of students. "People tend to generalize on the
negative and not generalize on the positive."

Students can fill out the Princeton Review's 2010 survey at
http://survey.review.com. Their book of the "Best 373 Colleges" will
be published in July. Skidmore's campus safety non-emergency line
can be reached at 580-5567.