Athens might be a home away from home, but that doesn't mean Mayor Paul Wiehl needs to play dad and tell us to use our indoor voices.
City Council is still discussing legislation that would rewrite the Athens' current noise laws. These changes only confirm that the ordinance is not regulation promoting respect, but a ridiculous attack on student activity.
This legislation could provide Athens Police with a significant increase in authority. If someone's music in a residential area could be heard 25 feet away, from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., the resident could spend 30 days in jail and pay up to a $1,000 dollar fine.
After Law Director Pat Lang offered suggestions to council this week, members at least rephrased the vague ordinance. We agree with Lang that the different limitations for residents and businesses needed to be reconsidered, in addition to what defines an Athens-approved event.
But Wiehl's remark that all off-campus students will graduate by the next City Council election shows disdain for the students he represents and ignores our input. Elahu Gosney, D-at large and a graduate student, is the only council member against the policy. Still, council is sending a very strong message with this ordinance; we are not considered real citizens and are undeserving of representation.
The ordinance could stress police as much as students. With about three officers patrolling on each weekend shift, it's unfair to place another burden on an already over-worked department.
Besides, there is no way the ordinance could be enforced evenly or objectively. Students could be punished without warning for an arbitrary definition of noise. The because I said so
parent-like approach in the legal arena is a slap in the face to a large group of Athens' residents: students.
Maybe the council can just wait another four years to sneak this law past a new student body.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors. 4
Opinion
City Council's much-discussed noise ordinance still unnecessary
