Thirty-two Tufts Wilderness Orientation participants were cited on Aug. 27 for trespassing on a beach in Woodstock, N.H.
Police officers responding to a noise complaint approached the participants at around 11:30 p.m. as the Wilderness group was leaving a beach off of Mirror Lake Road, a few miles away from the Tufts Loj, and cited them because the beach is closed to the public between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Wilderness leaders said that the citations, which are not criminal in nature, are the result of a misunderstanding and that they expect the charges will be dropped in exchange for community service. They also said that this is the first time that they have had a problem near the beach, which they have frequented in past years.
"We have visited Mirror Lake several times in the past, at all hours of the day, and have never seen signs indicating that the beach closes. We have never been asked to visit at different hours or make less noise, either by the neighbors or police," they said in a statement to the Daily.
Woodstock Police Chief Douglas Moorhead said that the town's relationship with Tufts students has been almost entirely positive in past years, and noted that Wilderness participants were "very apologetic and respectful" when approached by officers.
While most of the people cited were members of the Wilderness support staff, at least one was a freshman participating in the pre-orientation program.
A tentative court date has been set for Sept. 24, but Moorhead said that depending on how the incident is resolved, those cited may not need to appear in court.
In their statement to the Daily, which they made early Wednesday morning, Wilderness leaders said that they had "reached a mutually acceptable solution with the Town of Woodstock" that would involve the charges being dropped in exchange for eight hours of community service, which would serve as a gesture "to reinforce our standing in the community."
But as of late Wednesday afternoon, Moorhead said that that deal was not formally on the table. He did say last week, however, that the standard consequence for citations such as the ones issued is usually either a $100 fine and a letter of apology or community service.
Earlier this week, he also said that it is possible that the charges will be dropped if those cited agree to do community service.
