However, with COVID-19 health safety guidelines, bar culture is going to look and feel quite different when students return to campus.
The plethora of bars in Athens are working on setting guidelines and restrictions in place to keep their businesses open and keep customers happy, while also remaining safe. But even with bars staying open and measures being taken to adapt, bar employees and attendees are skeptical about them.
Kaylen Spears, who goes by DJ Marcellus Doe, plays at various bars in town. He played at Red Brick Tavern during the summer, and being in the middle of a pandemic, he didn’t expect anything wild. He was shocked to find that there were nights with large crowds.
He feels when students come back to campus, the majority will refrain from partaking in going out.
“Students are reckless, but most are smart enough to just want to get this over with,” Spears said in an email. “I think it’s going to hurt the bars a lot.”
Being a DJ during a quarantine, Spears tried the livestream approach as a placeholder for in-person performances. Though it worked well enough given the circumstances, he took issue with the quantity of restrictions as far as copyrights to stream on YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms.
“We need live events, not just bars, to strive as DJs and to enjoy it to the full potential,” Spears said in an email.
Tyler Beattie, a junior studying political science, has been working as a bouncer at The Crystal all summer with the new COVID-19 restrictions. For Beattie and the rest of the staff, it has been a big adjustment.
“It has been interesting to say the least,” Beattie said in an email. “I would say having to wear a mask when leaving your seat is the hardest thing to remember to do.”
Unlike Spears, Beattie believes bar culture is here to stay, and as soon as students come back, it will kick up again.
“With sports coming back, students will want to come out and watch the games,” Beattie said in an email. “However, the bars can only handle a limited capacity.”
To Beattie, the bottom line is: if students want to go out and have fun, they’ll find a way to. In his opinion, the alternative to going out is house parties, which seem to be less safe.
“The bars have restrictions and regulations they have to follow, while house parties can essentially do what they please,” Beattie said in an email.
Alli Russo, a fifth-year studying Spanish and Spanish education, agrees with Beattie that the bar culture won’t change, as it’s such a central part of Ohio University’s experience.
Russo went to the bars once or twice during the summer and experienced no one wearing masks or social distancing. She’s interested to see what the restrictions will look like in the fall and if the bars will have to shut down.
Just because Russo thinks the culture won’t change doesn’t mean she’s going to be taking part in it.
“I don’t feel comfortable going to bars right now because I know employees have been getting coronavirus and I don’t want to put myself in danger or others in danger,” Russo said in an email.
Like everything else revolving around university life, the plans for the bars are tentative and are up for change. For DJs like Spears, however, bar culture is vital to his performances. He feels that even with restrictions, he’s lucky to be playing.
“At the end of the day, I was just happy to be back doing it even if it was for like four people,” Spears said in an email.