Civic Responsibility Task Force
During the fall of 2003, Athens residents from across the city assembled and presented documentation of their persistent problems with noise, litter, overcrowding, and drunken unruliness in their neighborhoods. In early November, a confrontation occurred between local law enforcement officers and an unruly crowd in the Mill Street neighborhood. The crowd burned furniture in the street and threw rocks and bottles at city and university personnel.
In late winter, Ohio University President Robert Glidden and Athens Mayor Ric Abel formed the Civic Responsibility Task Force to work on long-term solutions to the problem of increased uncivil behavior as evidenced by acute episodes like the Halloween aftermath and ongoing behaviors like increased litter, noise, and drunken crowds in neighborhoods. The Task Force of Athens and area residents included 24 members representing a broad range of constituencies. The participating members are listed below:
Angela Baum, faculty member
Jim Bloom, landlord
Elizabeth Brookhart, UG student, Task Force staff
Geoff Buckley, faculty member
Michael Burns, UG student
Hub Burton, administrator, director of Communications and Marketing
Tony Camechis, director of Campus Safety
David Drabold, faculty member
Chuck Haegele, Athens Police officer
Jim Hintz, graduate student and former Student Senate chair
Terry Hogan, Dean of Students
Garry Hunter, Athens City Law Director, Task Force Co-Chair
Alyssa Jackmas, UG student
Bob Lachman, Mill Street resident
Mark Matthews, administrator, Campus Safety
Judy Piercy, administrator, Student Judiciary Director
Steve Reilly, faculty member
Sarah Sexton, UG student, Athens City Council member
Dale Tampke, administrator, Athens City Council member, Task Force Co-Chair
Jamie Walter, Student Senate President
Ric Wasserman, Athens Restaurant/Bar owner
Dave Williams, Athens Police Captain
The Task Force met eight times between March 2 and June 8, 2004. Working mostly as a committee-of-the-whole with between 15 and 20 members in attendance at the meetings, the group reviewed and discussed the following:
- Approaches of other cities and universities in fostering civic responsibility
- Citation and arrest data from Athens neighborhoods
- Presentations from city and university departments involved in enforcement and sanctioning
- A report of communications and perceptions surrounding student disturbances in Athens
- Activities of the university Committee Advocating Responsible Drinking Decisions
- A 2002 study of off-campus living in Athens
- Experiences and opinions of student and permanent residents, landlords and business owners, as well as city and university officials
The Task Force's study led to the recommendations linked below. They are grouped into four themes -- Education, Enforcement, Communication, and Collaboration -- that reflect five guiding principles.
Recommendations:
- Education
- Enforcement
- Communication
- Collaboration
