It might be tempting to spend all of your time in college going to the same old parties, but Athens has a vast number of interesting activities worth trying at least once. Besides dressing up for Halloween, sledding down Jeff Hill and hiking to the Ridges in the dark, there are plenty of other less-obvious things that every student should do before graduating from Ohio University.
[ol][li]Build a bike. The Wire, a community art space located at 21 Kern St., houses the Athens Bike Co-op, where anyone can go to build his or her own bike. After you've made one, take it for a spin on the 19-mile Hockhocking-Adena bikeway, which extends all the way from OU to Hocking College, and has some great spots to explore along the way. If you travel far enough, you'll encounter places such as an old company coal town and a log cabin settlement.[/li][li]Take interesting classes. A quick look at the course catalog shows plenty of strange things you can do for a credit hour or two. Scuba diving, dancing and kayaking are some of the interesting classes you may never have the chance to take after leaving OU. Besides, imagine the look on your parents' faces when you tell them you're taking a classed called Introduction to Leisure.[/li][li]Listen to the echo in Baker University Center. Next time you walk through Baker Center, stop and stand right below the domed ceiling on the fourth floor and say something. See what happens.[/li][li]Raft down the Hocking River. Students can often be seen biking, walking or relaxing next to the river. But why not spend some time on the river itself? Just grab an inflatable raft and a few friends and spend a relaxing afternoon floating down the stream. Just make sure you don't fall asleep and end up in the Ohio River.[/li][li]Join an intramural sports team. The number of sports to choose from ensures that there is something for everyone. In addition to traditional sports, you can join a team for cornhole, broomball or wallyball.[/li][li]See some art. Did you know that OU has an art museum? The Kennedy Museum of Art, located in Lin Hall at the Ridges, houses a variety of traveling exhibitions, a permanent collection of Southwest Native American arts and crafts, and admission is free. Nearby is The Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center, which boasts a 6,500-foot art gallery, and Arts/West, a church renovated into a performing-arts facility.[/li][li]Pull an all-nighter at least once. You're not a real college student until you've spent all night working on an assignment, preferably one close to finals that you put off for the whole quarter. Alden Library's seven floors are full of fun places to explore during study breaks, and you may even find some comfy furniture tucked in a mysterious corner. If you plan on not going to sleep for the rest of the day, stop by Union Street Diner for breakfast before you embark on another day of classes.[/li][li]Go camping. The area surrounding OU's campus is great for outdoor adventures, and there is no shortage of places to explore. Stroud's Run State Park is a great place to go swimming, fishing or hiking and is just a short drive from campus. Burr Oak State Park in Glouster is worth checking out, as well as Wayne National Forest.[/li][li]Go to a hockey game. OU's club hockey team plays at Bird Arena and the games are pretty intense. Glow-in-the-dark ice-skating sessions are a good time as well.[/li][li]Check out the Athens Farmers Market. Athens has its own farmers market in the parking lot of University Mall on East State Street every Saturday morning. Local merchants set up tents with fresh produce, flowers, meat, plants and baked goods. Some noteworthy offerings are homemade salsa, organic peanut butter and fresh bread from Avalanche Pizza.[/li][/ol]
17 Archives
Kristin Majcher
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Athens resident Keith Wagner volunteers at The Wire every Wednesday evening for the Athens Bike Co-op. The co-op lets the public build and repair bikes for free in exchange for building bikes to be sold in the store.
Try something new
