Some Ohio University students who live on fest streets can spend thousands on kegs and cases for the masses.
This article is a part of a weeklong series examining fest season in Athens.
Some Ohio University students prep for fests by finding fanny packs and mixing drinks in water bottles, but others are laying down tarps in their kitchens and locking their doors.
Life in a fest house varies from the average rental property in Athens. It comes with high keg bills, locked doors and a hefty cleanup once the festivities are over.
Ashley Fowler, a junior studying health service administration, prepped her house with her four roommates for their first year living on Mill Street during fest season.
“We locked everything up and locked all of our rooms,” Fowler said. “People can use our bathroom but that’s about it.”
Fowler and her roommates ended up on Mill Street because it was one of the few places left to rent, she said. Fowler added that living on Mill street is a lot more fun during fest season, but a lot of work goes into hosting.
“Honestly I’m excited for this to be over because having a party is a lot of work and a lot of money,” Fowler said during this past Saturday's Mill Fest.
Fowler and her roommates bought 30 cases of beer for the fest, which ended up costing about $500, she said.
“Once it gets shut down we’ll probably clean it up and go to the bars,” Fowler said, adding that she was a little worried about the cleanup process.
Others who occupy Mill Street year round found that living farther down the street lead to less people coming to their houses, and less cleanup.
Katy Joyce, a senior studying child and family studies, lives further down Mill Street towards the bike path and said not many people made their way down to her house this year or last year.
“We were pretty good about keeping our house closed," Joyce said. "We weren’t too worried about how many people came over."
Following the rest of Mill Street residents, Joyce and her roommates locked their doors and let a select few in their house, with a few trying to sneak in.
“When we would go in they would try and follow us after,” Joyce said.
Joyce added that her and her roommates are “grateful” for those higher up on Mill Street that let everyone in their house for fest, reminiscing about a time her friend bonged a beer off of a balcony.
Mill Fest isn’t the only time living on the street can be a hassle, Max Klepcyk, a junior studying communication studies, said.
“A lot of the fraternities have parties on Monday nights which sucks,” Klepcyk said, adding that other than those few nights and busy weekends, living on Mill Street isn’t too bad.
Klepcyk and his roommates have also experienced “random” people coming into their house.
“We were drinking on our porch last night at like one, maybe two, and random kids came up and thought they were entitled to come inside,” Klepcyk said.
During Mill Fest, Klepcyk was the designated door man — even though their door was locked — to make sure no one went inside.
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Despite fighting off the random people who tried to enter his house, Klepcyk and his roommates still enjoyed Mill Fest and celebrated with their neighbors by buying seven kegs and 50 cases, costing about $1,000.
“Mill Fest is by far my favorite, that’s literally why we got this house,” Klepcyk said.
@Fair3Julia
Jf311013@ohio.edu
