Perhaps I can shed a liitle light on this problem.  In mid-December I was
on campus and picked up a copy of The New Hampshire.  I noticed the Durham
PD log was in there, and was quite extensive, so I read it and a follow up
article.  I do not recall if any UNH hockey players were mentioned, but in
essence, at least 30 to 35 students had been arrested for criminal
trespassing.  Naturally the parents of most of these students were quite
upset.  What I don't know is how long these arrests had been going on, or
had continued after that, but it's reasonable to assume these weren't the
only students picked up in the Durham Dragnet.
 
It appears that many students for some time had been using some shortcut
across private property.  It must be a relative new area since I did not
recognize the name of the area or the lane or roadway in question.  Some of
them had been hanging out there, making a lot of noise late at night,
dropping trash, beer bottles, etc. in the area, and the owner of the
property got sick of it.  He complains to Durham PD which posts the area,
the students ignore the signs, the owner complains again, and the PD starts
making arrests.  A spokesman for the PD states they are serious about
keeping students out of the area, and they have to get their attention
somehow.
 
So to my mind the charges of a "cover-up" are just ridiculous.  Why?
Because you have:
 
1) a small town PD
2) making an unusually large number of arrests
3) with attendant paperwork, investigations, court appearances, patrolling,
etc
4) between semesters.
 
Now to some of the more recent and quite vitriolic folks posting
anti-Umile, anti-UNH, pro-conspiracy blather on this list, this will still
seem like mere self-serving rationalization.  No amount of reasoning will
convince them they are not onto something.  But I won't mention any names,
will I Dan?
 
Craig Knowles
UNH  '71
 
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