Legal Update and Campus Support
Dear Members of the Skidmore Community,
I write to share with you the news that the driver in the devastating crash that took the life of student Michael Hedges and injured students Toby Freeman and Oban Galbraith last October was sentenced in Saratoga County Court this afternoon. Thomas H. Gorman, who pled guilty in February to first-degree vehicular manslaughter and first-degree vehicular assault, both felonies, received the maximum sentence allowable under the law from Judge James Murphy. He sentenced Gorman to five to 15 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter and two to six years for vehicular assault, to be served concurrently. He will not be eligible for early release.
While no sentence can bring back Michael, I do hope that this court action will bring some measure of closure to the families and friends of the victims. Interim Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs Gail Cummings-Danson and I attended the sentencing hearing, along with a group of students and family members. All of us were tremendously affected by the emotional victim-impact statements given by Toby and Oban, as well as Will Blauvelt and Kitty Horblit, who were with them on that terrible night. We were extremely impressed by the strength and courage these students exhibited in describing their pain.
A touching letter was also read on behalf of Michael Hedges’s mother, Stephanie Mae, who was in attendance along with her son Tom and the parents of Toby and Oban.
The families told us once again how much the College’s outpouring of support has meant to them over these past very difficult months. We are now involved in planning for a campus tree-planting ceremony in memory of Michael Hedges later this spring. We will provide details soon, and all members of the Skidmore community will be invited to attend.
This is a painful time for Skidmore with the death of another student, Will Golden, over the past weekend. Our hearts go out to all of these families and the entire community as we all struggle to comprehend this unbearable loss.
As I mentioned in an email this morning, there will be a gathering Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in Ladd Concert Hall in the Arthur Zankel Music Center, to honor and remember Will.
Recognizing that this news will affect members of our community in different ways, let me remind you that we are making available a variety of opportunities for support this week.
In addition to its regular services, the Counseling Center will be offering same-day 30-minute consultations with a therapist all week for individuals directly affected by these events. Please call the Center at 518-580-5555 the day you would like to come in.
The Health Promotion Office will be bringing therapy dogs, both large and small, to the Intercultural Center (ICC) in Case Center on Tuesday, March 22, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life will be available and Wilson Chapel will be open every day this week. There will also be multiple opportunities for reflection, mindfulness, and communion—including yoga and meditation in the Chapel on Tuesday, March 22, from 11 a.m. to noon; Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m.; and Friday from 4 to 5 p.m. Mindfulness moments take place on Tuesday and Thursday in the Chapel at 12:15 p.m. for twenty minutes. And the Chapel offers Zen meditation on Tuesday night from 6:25 to 8 p.m. Please see the chapel schedule here.
Because our ties to others are particularly important in times of loss and stress, our Peer Health Educators will also be hosting an event focusing on healthy relationships, on Thursday, March 24, in the Kisiel Atrium of Murray-Aikins Dining Hall from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
While our community is being tested by these extraordinarily sad events, I know that we will once again reach out to help each other through these difficult times.