Only two days before fest season begins, Ohio University and the city of Athens are prepping a campaign to warn students about the possibility of incriminating photos ending up on the Internet.
Posters featuring the slogan “Be Smart. Be Civil. Be Safe.” will be distributed starting this week, said Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi. The posters also have the slogan “What happens in Athens stays on,” with logos for various social networks including Facebook and Myspace.
The difference between this year’s campaign and fest safety efforts in previous years is that the university is launching a more aggressive marketing campaign, Lombardi said. The posters will be distributed across campus, the city and in all residence halls, he said.
“Getting this out in front of everyone will hopefully get them to think twice before making some bad decisions at the fests,” he said.
High Fest takes place this Saturday. Originally scheduled for next weekend, the fest was moved a week sooner because of Easter, according to the event’s Facebook page.
OU had to push its deadline forward a week to get the message out before fests begin, but all the materials were already prepared, Lombardi said.
According to a news release published today, uniformed and undercover police will be documenting “unlawful and unsafe behaviors” with photos and video during the fests. Last year, Athens Police used photos of Palmerfest revelers to find people suspected of starting a fire in the street.
“The bottom line is that unruly behaviors simply cannot be tolerated, as they pose a threat to student and citizen safety,” OU Police Chief Andrew Powers said in the release.
More than 300 OU students received judicial referrals during fest season, according to the release
A group of OU officials, students, Athens residents and city officials developed the marketing campaign, Lombardi said. He also showed the posters to OU’s Student Senate and asked for feedback earlier this month.
“We want everyone to know and obey the laws, because we will be enforcing them,” said Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle in the news release.
Besides posters, Lombardi said he and others will be going door-to-door before fests to remind residents to be careful. The campaign also includes emails, social media messages and public service announcements on university cable and the local government channel.
“If you go out and do something stupid and someone videotapes you … that’s going to be out there forever,” Lombardi said.
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