Ohio University and the city of Athens continue to collaborate this year to ensure the safety of students and residents during Halloween weekend.
The city’s festivities will take place Saturday Oct. 28. The events will include family activities starting at 1 p.m., followed by trick-or-treating in the uptown business district, then the Honey for the Heart Parade and Ball and finally the Halloween Block Party.
Mayor Steve Patterson discussed some safety measures with OU President Lori Stewart-Gonzalez such as increasing police presence and reinstating a volunteer program called the Green Jackets.
During those festivities, the Athens Police Department and OU Police Department will be patrolling the city, Patterson said. There will be officers mounted on horses uptown as well.
“If you talk to any of the mounted officers, who allow people to come up and pet the horses, they actually encourage it because there's a calming effect with having the (horses) uptown,” Patterson said.
The other precaution the university and city discussed was bringing back the green jackets which were people who volunteered for the university to stand on Court Street to be of service and help those in need.
“(The green jackets) were just eyes on the ground to be there to be of help and whatnot,” Patterson said. “They didn't have any law enforcement assistance for them because they were all volunteers, faculty, staff, administration.”
Patterson said Gonzalez asked him if the city would reinstate the green jackets program, which did not have volunteers in recent years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don't think we need hundreds, we would have 100 or so in past years,” Patterson said. “I said if there's up to 50 people who would like to volunteer their time on the 28th to help, that's fine with me.”
While OU is not involved with organizing the city’s Halloween celebration, it is aware many students partake in the festivities, Dan Pittman, a university spokesperson, said.
One way the university plans to keep on-campus students safe is by requiring them to wear wristbands to prove they live in the dormitories. This year, on-campus students can have a guest stay with them in their dorm room but they must also purchase them a wristband for $50.
Jneanne Hacker, director of Housing and Residence Life, said wristbands will be required to be worn the entire Halloween weekend and will be distributed Friday, Oct. 27 at 8 P.M. to residents, guests and staff members.
“The online registration form for guests started Oct. 13 and will end Friday, Oct. 20,“ Hacker wrote in an email. "Roommates will have the opportunity to “veto” a guest registration from Oct. 13-25.”
A $50 guest fee will be charged to the account of a resident who registers a guest who checks in a dorm for the Halloween weekend, according to the Housing and Residence Life website.
Having off-campus guests who are OU students will not result in a charge given they are pre-registered, Hacker said. On-campus students who bring guests must pre-register both non-OU students and off-campus guests through an eRezlife form.
“Any non-OHIO student or off-campus OHIO student who are not registered by the Oct. 20 deadline but are found to be in the hall may be registered in the late guest registration fee for $100 and will be applied to the student account,” Hacker wrote in an email.
In addition to controlling the number of guests entering residence halls, there will be no access to all exterior doors except the main entrances of each residence hall for the duration of the weekend starting at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 through noon Sunday, Oct. 29.
There will also be no guest parking available on campus during this time, according to the Housing and Residence Life website. However, parking may be available at the Athens fairgrounds.
The collective goal for both the university and the city of Athens is to ensure the safety of everyone who is in the area during the Halloween weekend.
OUPD and APD have mutual aid, Patterson said. Each department can assist one another if they see any suspicious activity outside of their given jurisdiction.
“We encourage all students and visitors to be smart and stay safe while they enjoy the weekend, and remember that each of us has a responsibility to stay healthy, be respectful and look out for one another to help ensure this Halloween is a safe and enjoyable occasion for everyone in our community,” Pittman wrote in an email.
