The new task force feels a few years too late.
We like it when Athens city and Ohio University officials come together to solve problems. That’s simple enough.
Athens residents and OU students alike benefit from such interactions. The town-and-gown strain can be evident, despite what some officials on either side might say.
But the latest collaboration to tackle fest season is unwarranted and unnecessary. As one OU Police Officer indicated in a Post article today, fest season is more or less dead. We reported that last spring.
So what’s the reasoning behind this new task force? Apparently, much of it centers on how to best use local law enforcement during those events, which typically draw college-aged revelers from around the country to our otherwise sleepy town.
With that reasoning, that task force would’ve been a great initiative four years ago. From the perspectives of three student editors, who enjoy the fests as much as the next Bobcat, we don’t want to see city-university oversight suffocate Athens’ famed parties any further.
Officials need to separate the fests of yesteryear — think rioting in the streets and at least one house fire — with those of the present. They’ve become a completely less fun animal that’s typically put to bed by 5 p.m. What’s left to consider?
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
