In a joint news release, Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl and Ohio University president Roderick McDavis remind students to remain respectful during fest season.
With fest season kicking off Friday night with Milliron Fest, Ohio University President Roderick McDavis and Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl reminded students and fest goers that the city will increase its police presence during the festivities.
“In an effort to ensure the safety of our community, we will be ramping up our law enforcement presence during festival weekends,” McDavis and Wiehl said in a joint news release.
The release detailed offenses that both law and code enforcement will be keeping a special look out for, including nuisance party offenses, open container offenses, disorderly conduct and noise offenses.
During last year’s fest season, local and state law enforcement made a total of 279 arrests according to previous Post reports. Those numbers were up from 2013, which saw 266 arrests during fest season.
Number Fest saw the most arrests out of all of the 2014 spring fests with a total of 89 arrests.
Common charges last year included underage drinking, false identification, obstruction of official business, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, according to previous Post reports.
Though the nuisance party offense is no longer a criminal offense, it still holds a fine of $150 for any household deemed too rowdy or disruptive.
The news release also reminded students to be respectful to the surrounding community.
“We would like to remind students and community members about our shared responsibility as members of the Athens community,” the release said. “We would like to stress the importance of making intelligent decisions throughout the spring festival season.”
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