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Incident at the Sullivan County Community College Dormitory

Statement by Susan Jaffe, Chairperson SCCC Dormitory Corp., September 13th 2018:

Early on the morning of September 8, 2018, staff at the Sullivan County Community College Dormitory received a report of a student locked behind a malfunctioning door in the Lazarus I. Levine residence hall. A residence director and a security guard, both on duty in the building at the time, attempted to open the door with a master key, but the lock had jammed shut. Once it became apparent that the individual inside the room was in distress, residence hall staff immediately forced open the door.

The open door resolved the issue that had originally caused distress within the room. The students assigned to the room in question received a new dorm assignment, and calm returned to the floor.

Video of the incident has circulated widely, sometimes with inaccurate comments attached. No criminal activity is alleged to have occurred within the room. While the video shows a chaotic scene coupled with an unfortunate level of excitement, I must commend the residence hall team for responding to the crisis with alacrity and imagination, and resolving the crisis without injuries.