News
Ohio University Prepares For Halloween Weekend
By: WOUB Staff Writer
Posted on:
Ohio University is gearing up for another year of Halloween in Athens and this year there are a few changes the university has put in place to keep students and visitors safer.
O.U. Assistant to the President Becky Watts says there are new procedures to make sure students in the residence halls feel protected over the weekend.
"The city of Athens Halloween event is one that brings a great number of out of town folks into the city of Athens and many of those folks want to stay as guests in the residence halls with our students. So, we have procedures set up, very clear procedures set up for reserving a space. The guests have to pay a fee. The roommate has to approve the guest. That's a security issue that we deal with so that everybody's comfortable with a guest being in the room. There are wrist bands that are assigned to the guests that are staying in residence halls so that if they do become lost later in the evening, our green jacket crew and the city safety patrol can help them find their way back to their residence halls," says Watts.
Watts says large scale events such as Halloween are challenging, but the University is working hard to make sure the students are taken care of.
"Our principal concern from the university's perspective is the health and safety of our students and all individuals that are on our campus and in the community. And on a weekend where you have a large event like the city-sanctioned Halloween celebration, we know that that becomes more challenging and more difficult. So, that's why we have volunteer crews out late into the evening and into the wee hours of the morning because we want to be able to provide support and assistance to keep our students and their guests safe, healthy, and in a good place," says Watts.
The Halloween Street Party begins Saturday at 2 p.m. and ends Sunday at 2 a.m.