Skidmore Students Block Intersection During Black Lives Matter Protest

Skidmore Students Block Intersection During Black Lives Matter Protest

A new ordinance in Saratoga Springs makes the blocking of streets illegal, but of course, no one was arrested.

The Times Union reports:

Skidmore president seeks to protect students during 7-hour BLM protest

Concerned over student safety during a seven-hour Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday, Skidmore College’s president said he worked with Mayor Meg Kelly and Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton to urge “a peaceful resolution to the event.”

“Ultimately, the protest thinned, moved to Congress Park and dispersed,” President Marc Conner wrote in an email to the Skidmore community. “I am extremely pleased and relieved to say that there was no conflict and no violence.”

The large rally blocked the intersection of Broadway and Lake Avenue on Saturday afternoon. City police, Saratoga County sheriff’s deputies and State Police converged on the scene, and were observing as hundreds participated in the downtown demonstration.

Conner also said that he sent campus security to the protest to encourage students who were occupying Broadway, the city’s main thoroughfare, to follow police instruction to move to the sidewalks. He did so because under a new city ordinance, blocking streets makes the protest “an illegal gathering and is subject to law.” Campus security also offered students rides back to campus, and Skidmore Vice President for Student Affairs Cerri Banks, as well as a representative from the president’s office, were on scene.

“As I have said multiple times over the past four months, I and the college fully support peaceful and legal protest,” Conner wrote. “It’s a fundamental right.” But he said, the college has no authority over the event that includes many Skidmore students and he wants to do “all I can to protect and safeguard our students.”

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