Following a trespassing incident, Public Safety feels confident in campus security and believes that safety begins with the campus community. 

“Statistically and factually, this is a very safe campus but it’s not crime free, no place is crime free. That’s where the community’s eyes and ears are very important,” said Police Chief and Director of Public Safety, Daniel Colonno in an interview with the Beacon.  

On Tuesday, September 13 around 3:30, a call to campus safety was made by a faculty member, reporting two college-age males arguing in Murdock Hall.  

When asked how long it took to respond to the call, Colonno said, “It took a matter of minutes. When the lieutenant got there, they (the trespassers) were leaving Murdock, and because they matched the description, the lieutenant saw them…our response time was very quick.” 

After the faculty member gave a description, the two trespassers were recognized coming out of Murdock by an officer who witnessed them go into Venable Hall. The officer found the two males inside ripping posters from walls and damaging ceiling tiles.  

“We ask people, if you see something, say something,” says Colonno, “At the end of the day, safety begins with the campus community, we are all responsible for our own safety, so a little bit of situational awareness and if you see something say something. Here is a perfect example…just that one small thing of calling public safety set those wheels in motion, and the timing was such that we were able to stop these individuals.”  

Public Safety advises when walking around campus, strength in numbers, knowing your surroundings, knowing where the blue lights are, carrying their student ID, and downloading the Guardian app which helps contact Public Safety. The Guardian app can be found and further explained through the Public Safety website.  

The two males identified were 18-year-old Michael Caron, of Monroe, MA, and 18-year-old Noah Miller of North Adams, MA. Both were arrested and charged with Misdemeanor Destruction of Property. They were subsequently trespassed from campus, bailed, and released and will appear in Northern Berkshire District Court at a future time according to the email sent out on September 14 by Colonno. 

On September 14, a separate email was sent out by Senior Advisor for Institutional Equity and Belonging, Christopher Macdonald-Dennis regarding a Racial Slur written on a whiteboard.  

“We don’t know for sure that it was them…those were two separate incidents. I guess we could make some inference that may or may not have been them, but that’s why you saw the two distinct messages, the crime and safety alert from myself, and the message from our chief diversity officer, Dr. Macdonald-Dennis,” said Colonno when asked if the two incidents were related, 

“Both sets of things needed to be reported to our campus community for full transparency and to have knowledge…we try to keep those open lines of communication and that includes crafting certain messages. To include that message in with this would have murkied the waters a little bit and it really needed to come from two different sides of the same house.”