Imagine you’re sitting on a thick, cold rock, a perfect seat from which to view the partially frozen body of water poised ahead. The air is just warm enough to be comfortable. Shuffling through the smaller stones at your feet, you try to find the flattest one, one that will skip across the water like a child’s finger jumping off a hot stove. The stone skips once, twice, and then lands on top of a long piece of white ice. Standing up and brushing off the dirt, you leave your haven to travel up, through trees, on trails through which millions have traveled before you, and you feel part of the nature adventure so many have enjoyed. You reach a cliff, and stand there, sucking in the mild winter air and reveling in the beauty of the lake before you.
Fortunately, you don’t have to imagine this. This beauty is Point au Roche State Park, and like so much else, our state is trying to take it away from us.
To save $105,000 — a practically insignificant sum in relative terms — the state is taking this joy away from all of the residents and visitors of this area.
Though there are students who have not gone to the park for the outdoor adventures, many others go to cook out on the grill on a beautiful spring day with friends.
The park serves students not only as a place to play, but to study. Expeditionary studies majors go kayaking at Point au Roche, enriching their curriculum and understanding of safety in nature expeditions.
Those who enjoy the park go there to hike, swim, bird watch, and enjoy the stunning view of the mountains.
A group on Facebook titled “Save Point au Roche!” enlisted 5,333 members, among them Plattsburgh State students, who don’t want to see this oasis ripped away from those who enjoy it.
Join the group but, more importantly, join the fight. Work with those such as Mary Simmers, Friends of Point au Roche president, to keep this joy open and operating.
In the sometimes long, mundane days of college, students need a little beauty. Don’t let the state take it away.
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