Students gathered for Palmer Place Fest Friday afternoon armed with sweatshirts and gloves to combat the cold weather.
Partygoers who arrived to Palmer Place Fest in snapbacks, jerseys and novelty T-shirts Friday evening probably soon regretted their decision.
The fourth fest of spring semester was met with a light snowfall, forcing many Ohio University students into knit hats and winter jackets.
Students mostly said that while Palmer Place Fest was the coldest of the fests they’d experienced so far, it wouldn’t stop their partying.
Cornwell Properties sent an email, obtained by The Post, to Palmer Place residents warning that throwing objects from balconies would be prohibited at the fest. That didn’t stop the many fest-goers that were throwing footballs from balcony to balcony across the apartment complex’s courtyard.
“A football almost hit someone’s head,” Alex Randolph, a senior studying child and family services, said.
The email sent to residents also said that all loud parties must be shut down by 10 p.m.
Megan Wipper, a senior studying communication sciences and disorders and a friend of Randolph’s, said she was most looking forward to seeing her friends at the fest.
The two explained that last year, everyone was in shorts and tank tops at Palmer Place Fest and sliding on a courtyard-wide soapy tarp that was set up on the green.
“Palmer Place is different because everyone’s so close with the balconies,” Wipper said.
There were some aspects to the event that kept the day exciting, such as a handheld drone flying around the courtyard and the Latex League passing out condoms in a golf cart.
Some students still abandoned the fest for the warmth of the bars Uptown.
“It sucks it’s this late in the month,” Krista Palmisano, a senior studying communication sciences and disorders, said.
Some students compared the cold weather paired with avid beer drinking to a midautumn tailgate party. Other fest goers said they turned to alcoholic beverages as a source of warmth.
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Many said they remember the entire Palmer Place courtyard being filled to the brim with festers in previous years.
“Last year was quadruple this,” Shannon Murphy, a junior studying pre-med, said. “This is so mild it hurts.”
Kara Cozort, a manager with Cornwell Properties, had previously said security would be hired for the fest, as Palmer Place had been doing since 2007.
Jacob Thomas, a senior studying finance, also said he was upset by the low turnout.
“I’m actually really upset about it,” Thomas said. “I’ve been here four years and it’s never been this dead.”
@Fair3Julia
jf311013@ohio.edu
