Respect is the basis for all human interaction. It is impossible to love thy neighbor if the most basic-level need of all parties involved is not met. Within the quaint setting of Athens, there is not enough mutual respect between the yearlong residents of Athens and the three-quarters residents of Ohio University. All students feel the uneasy relationship between the town and the college, but it is often only discussed behind closed doors or with people of the same persuasion.
The boundaries were informally set long before any current OU students took up residence here. As students, we understand that we do not venture beyond the area surrounding the campus and into enemy territory. That is unless we stick to the main thoroughfares and return promptly after visiting the Kroger, Wal-Mart or any of the other major fast food chains around town. On the other side of the fence, it is understood that the people of Athens are able to roam freely through the town but do not interfere in students' lives when on our turf. To use an extremely disappointing movie to make the point hit home, it is as if the university is the village and the town is the woods in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village.
The division between the two populations inhabiting Athens is most clearly seen when examining problems that have a fairly clean break along the perspectives of students and locals. The nuisance party ordinance is a prime example of the mutual disrespect of both involved parties. Students resent that the local population desires to limit our right to party and deny the students the experience of college debauchery. But students have also underestimated the effects of such behavior. Large, irresponsible parties do impose on the rights of those who are in close proximity to the gathering, and it is justifiable that some locals might not want to be disturbed at 3 a.m. by loud music and an intoxicated student relieving him or herself on their front lawn.
What both sides need to realize is that Athens and OU will forever be bound in a loveless, manipulative marriage of sorts. There is no solution that will ease the tensions between the factions. Hell, it is more likely that in our lifetime we will see President Bush and Saddam Hussein in the midst of a passionate embrace, or the Cleveland Browns pull themselves from the bottom of the AFC North. Instead, both locals and OU residents need to understand that we are interdependent of one another.
The university is a huge employer in the Athens area and provides the local population with hundreds of jobs. Without it, the unemployment rate of Athens would rival that of the economically depressed counties that surround Athens: Vinton, Meigs, Morgan, etc. Despite the social drawbacks of having a university in a small town, the economic benefits far outweigh the negatives. Furthermore, it can be reasonably assumed that there probably would not be as many businesses -most notably Wal-Mart -in such close proximity to the town if the university was not in Athens. Lastly, OU was established in 1804, so it is false to assume that the university does not share the same right to claim Athens as its own.
Despite the aforementioned reasons, it is important to note that just because the university sustains the local economy and affords the local population a more diverse, convenient variety of businesses, the students do not have a right to be disrespectful or condescending to any person that calls Athens home year round. Students as a whole might often wonder why some locals dislike the university, and the simple answer is the student population does not respect the town. Students mindlessly riot when the bars close early, set couches on fire for fun and defile beautiful Athens with their discarded beer cans, cigarette butts and other forms of trash. Just because some of students' tuition money pays the salary of some locals is not a justification for students to become elitists, especially when a large percentage of students don't really pay the salaries of OU employees -their mommies and daddies do.
Until locals and students can understand the opposing viewpoints and reasonably discuss them, the stereotypical college-town atmosphere will remain. We are all guilty of underestimating and disrespecting one another. Only through an open, honest dialogue can we begin to do away with the Us vs. Them mentality that isolates us from our neighbors. The marriage of Athens and OU might not always be a loving one, but it can be a respectful one. However, unlike most other troublesome marriages in the world, divorce is not an option for Athens and OU.
-Dan Rinderle is a Post editorial writer and junior journalism major. Send him an e-mail at daniel.rinderle@ohiou.edu.
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