Concordia skinny-dippers slip away, but leave evidence trail

Here's the skinny on a Concordia College rite of spring: Some students leave college life with a big splash, skinny dipping after midnight.

By Paul Levy, Star Tribune

Last update: April 30, 2007 - 10:37 PM

Some of the 50 to 80 Concordia College students caught skinny-dipping at 2:30 a.m. Monday in a campus pond left behind cell phones and wallets as they scattered from Moorhead, Minn., police. Others left most of their clothing.

"Prexy's Pond is beautiful, but you wouldn't want to even dip your toe in it," said college spokesman Roger Degerman. "It's not exactly a chlorinated pool."

The students, many of whom graduated Sunday and arrived at the pond after the 2 a.m. closing of local bars, dipped more than their toes. When a lone campus security guard arrived, students tossed his golf cart into the pond.

No one was arrested for indecent exposure. None of the students was completely naked when Moorhead police arrived. Any charges of property damage depend on the condition of the golf cart, which was towed out of the pond, said Moorhead Police Lt. Chris Carey.

"We'll give it 24 hours to dry," he said. "If there's damage, well, thanks to the cell phones and wallets, we have leads."

This was not the first post-graduation celebration in Prexy's Pond, said Brent McKenzie, a bartender at Mick's Office, a campus bar. He said he didn't hear students at the bar talking about skinny-dipping Sunday night, but he wasn't surprised to learn about what he called "an annual rite" hours later.

"They've been doing it at Concordia as long as I can remember," he said. "But they usually don't throw in a golf cart."

There were no reported injuries, although students crowded the pond, which is about a fifth of an acre wide and five feet deep.

"For the kids graduating, I'm sure this is a stress reliever," said Carey. "I don't have a problem with fun, as long as people don't get injured. There's no criminal action based on swimming and fun. But I worry that in a small pond, in the dark, someone could get lost."

By Monday afternoon, the campus resembled a ghost town, with most students having headed for home with their degrees.

As for those who left wallets and cell phones, Carey said, "I'm sure we'll hear form them again."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419 • plevy@startribune.com

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