For members of the men's track team, sometimes you can run, but you can't hide -- just ask the two freshmen who ran onto Memorial Field during Saturday afternoon's Cornell-Dartmouth football game.
Track team members Luke Gonzales '01 and David Chalmers '01 darted from the west stands between the third and fourth quarters of the game and raced across the field toward the gate of Leverone Field House -- much to the delight of the upperclass students who had been encouraging members of the freshman class to "rush the field" for most of the game.
But that didn't stop Hanover Police from eventually catching and arresting the pair -- charging Gonzales with criminal trespassing. Chalmers has not yet been formally charged.
"Rushing the field" has been banned by the College administration for several years, since a number of field rushing incidents in the 1980s resulted in injuries for members of visiting teams' bands and other spectators.
No one chased Gonzales and Chalmers on the field Saturday, but Safety and Security and Hanover police officers were waiting for them on foot and in two cars.
Gonzales said he and Chalmers did not expect to see the police outside the stadium. "We were almost celebrating" when we made it over the fence, he said.
Chalmers and Gonzales then fled in different directions. The Hanover police caught Gonzales right away, but in chasing Chalmers, two car accidents resulted.
Gonzales while chasing Chalmers, a Hanover Police car crashed into a car parked on a side street near the Leverone Field House and a Safety and Security car wrecked its front end on a dirt road nearby.
Gonzales said he "didn't feel like resisting," so he allowed the Hanover Police to catch him.
The police arrested and handcuffed him and "shoved" him into the back of the car, he said.
Chalmers said he was able to escape police pursuit by running into the woods near the Leverone Field House.
But, when he returned to his room, he found an e-mail message requesting he meet with Safety and Security officers.
Chalmers said he was most likely caught due to the video cameras Safety and Security officers use during the football games.
The police took Gonzales' fingerprints and a "mug shot" at the Hanover police station. Bail was set at $300, which he said he does not have to pay until his court date in December.
Gonzales said the police told him he may face a charge of disorderly contact in addition to the trespassing charge.
Chalmers said he has not been penalized yet, but he believes he faces three terms of probation and a fine. He said he must attend a court hearing next week.
The First Year Office will decide their penalties, according to College Proctor Robert McEwen.
Gonzales said rushing the field is one of the ways freshmen can show their spirit.
"Since I'm not one for getting in a drunken stupor and running around the bonfire, this seemed more appealing to me," he said.
"It's a Dartmouth tradition that I felt the freshmen needed to continue," Chalmers said. "I was disappointed when freshmen sat in their seats during half-time, so Luke and I decided to do something between the third and fourth quarters."
Chalmers said he regrets causing the two car accidents.
"But, on other hand, there was this huge rush of adrenaline," he said.
