Many officials are unsure how a portion of a bill will affect college students in Athens and its connection to the nuisance party ordinance.
A portion of a bill enacted on Sept. 26, 2003 by the Ohio General Assembly deals with riot-related activities, and if charged with any of those violations, students could lose their state-sponsored financial aid.
While the Athens Police Department has yet to give any nuisance party citations, students could face the consequences of this bill at any gathering leading to a charge of a riot-related activity, including nuisance parties that escalate.
A riot is defined as four or more people involved in disorderly conduct, which includes blocking traffic, littering or intimidating public officials.
Charges that could potentially connect with the bill could come after a nuisance party citation, said Athens Police Chief Richard Mayer. Officers will still make arrests as usual, and any charges that could relate to the bill will be determined through the judicial system.
We would be very disturbed to see House Bill 95 connected to the nuisance party ordinance
said Councilwoman Deborah Phillips, D-4th Ward. It is not part of the mix.
For the procedure of the nuisance party ordinance, police would first have to declare a party a nuisance after four violations have been found. Residents of the property would be given a nuisance party citation.
Then officers would announce that the party had been declared a nuisance party and non-residents would be ordered to leave immediately. If someone did not leave, that individual would be given his or her own nuisance party citation. If the individual still did not leave after receiving a citation, the police would arrest that person, who could then face a charge that might relate to the Ohio bill, Mayer said.
Examples of riot-related activities are aggravated riot, riot, failure to disperse and misconduct at an emergency.
These charges would require the university to withhold state-sponsored financial aid, according to an Ohio University Web site notifying students of riot-related and sexual assault offenses. (www.ohiou.edu/students/on_convict.html)
OU officials first heard of the bill last summer, said Judy Piercy, director of Campus Judiciaries. As of now, university officials are trying to determine the protocol they would use if and when someone was arrested and charged in violation of the bill. The university is still determining how they would notify the necessary officials about the status of a student's financial aid.
Piercy said the intent of the bill was to deal with charges relating to riots and other acts of civil disturbances. Charges stemming from off-campus house parties might not be directly related to the bill.
We would have to look at the context of the arrest and whether it is in the spirit of House Bill 95 Piercy said. We would look at each case individually.
Officials at Athens Municipal Court said Judge William Grim cannot comment on the bill, but he takes each case individually.
After an arrest and charge is made, the university tracks cases through the court system. The judiciaries have not yet had to deal with cases that could potentially have a connection to the bill.
Rep. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, said the bill was initiated in response to disturbances at Ohio State University and Ohio University. While it is hard to say if the bill will be widely used, it does have its pros and cons.
I think it is good in that it increases the consequences for behavior that we want to discourage Stewart said. But it has the potential to be misused. I just hope that people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time do not get scooped up into that category.
Parents, guardians and students were notified about the bill in a letter sent home during spring break. The letter read that the university can withhold financial aid to students convicted of certain crimes related to rioting.
Council members are unsure of the connection between the bill and the nuisance party ordinance because not all nuisance parties are riots or have riot-related activities occurring, Phillips said.
Councilman Paul Wiehl, D-1st Ward, also noted that city council is only legislative, not administrative, and does not control the effects of the bill.
The nuisance party ordinance was adopted March 1.
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