The pandemic of 2020 (now 2021) has had numerous local repercussions for Athens residents and Ohio University students. One question that’s of high interest to many students is how COVID-19 will affect the outdoor fests that take place in close-in student neighborhoods every spring.
One full slate of annual spring fests already went by the wayside last year, canceled after OU sent all its students home in the early spring due to the spreading pandemic. However, a full complement of students is back in the dorms and off-campus housing for the second half of the 2020-21 school year, and likely will still be in Athens in late March when the fests usually get started.
At this point, nearly half of OU’s student population has never experienced a High Fest or a Mill Fest, or the biggest fest of all, Palmer Fest. Until last year, each spring for decades in Athens, thousands of Bobcats and their visiting friends have thronged the front yards and porches of whichever block of off-campus student housing is hosting the party on this particular Saturday in early or mid-spring. This includes students who were freshman last year and this year.
With the pandemic holding on stubbornly and any vaccination effort for student-aged population still months away, substantial health concerns will arise if students decide to proceed with the block parties/fests this spring. Students in Athens already are the target of ample criticism from local citizens, who get riled up after seeing long lines of students at local bars, many of them unmasked. This is regardless of the fact that whatever students are exhibiting unsafe behavior are likely a small fraction of the overall student population in Athens.
Spring Fest Wisdom
If the spring fests do happen this year, and for any years when they take place in the future, here are some good rules to follow to ensure a safe and happy (and unencumbered by criminal charges) OU spring fest season:
- If OU announces that it will not be OK with fests this spring, due to the pandemic, they likely will have people watching for fest parties in the neighborhoods. Be aware of this.
- Stay outside if COVID remains a concern, and wear a mask as much as possible in between gulps of cheap beer. No passing of cigarettes or vape pens containing a certain illegal herb. Avoid groups of people, if possible, and hang out with members of your own household. And really, the best advice is to avoid any fests to prevent a definite risk of infection. There’ll be more next year.
- Start your party early, knowing that if recent years are any indication, the APD will shut down most of the parties by 5 p.m., using the city’s nuisance party law.
- Review your house or apartment lease to see if any party restrictions exist. Some leases prohibit parties or restrict the number of guests. Some leases contain “no keg” restrictions. If you violate the lease, your landlord may have grounds to evict you, to sue you for breach of con- tract, or both.
- Only serve alcohol to persons age 21 or over. If you are caught providing alcohol to underage persons, you can be fined or jailed. This can happen if you serve alcohol to someone who you know is under the age of 21 or to someone you should know is under 21. Failure to take precautions can make you criminally liable. If convicted, you face maximum penalties of six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. Check identification at the place where alcohol is served and monitor the premises to ensure that underage persons are not avoiding your efforts. Remember that it’s illegal to sell alcohol to persons of any age without a permit or license. If you’re in a small group, of course, it’s OK to pitch in for a case of beer or whatever.
- Keep alcohol on private property. To avoid open-container charges, keep alcohol in the house or on private property. You can be cited for open container if you have a cup or open container of alcohol on public property, which includes sidewalks.
- Monitor the noise level. All noise (even porch conversations) must be stopped or contained, meaning they cannot be heard from 50 feet away, by 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday. Let your neighbors know that you are having a party and provide them with your phone number so they can call you instead of the police if the noise level is getting too high. You can be charged with a noise violation even if no one complains, if it’s past the acceptable time.
- Provide adequate restrooms for your party guests. Nobody likes public urination, least of all the police.
- Don’t let drunken guests drive. Don’t let a friend (or an enemy, for that matter) get behind the wheel if he or she has been drinking. Besides the obvious risk of having an accident, Ohio has strict DUI laws. Three or four beers can put an average-size man over the limit, and you could take 100 Uber or cab rides before reaching the cost of one DUI conviction.
- Don’t get wasted at your own party. Bad stuff tends to happen toward the end of the night. Don’t pass out in your room while guests are still hanging out at your party. Asleep or not, you’re still responsible (and legally liable).
- Be aware of your rights. Police are not allowed to enter your residence without a warrant or consent. If the police come to the door, a resident of the house should speak to them outside. TIP: If you are currently enrolled as a student at Ohio University, make sure you don’t waive the option on your tuition bill to pay $12 per semester (and $8 in the summer) to have access to legal services at the Center for Student Legal Services (www.studentlegalrights.org). This is a bargain, to say the least, and like insurance, you never know when you might need it.