The 2026 Fest Season has started, and thousands of Ohio University students will flood from campus to the outer streets of Athens and celebrate the warm weather. For seniors, this marks the close of their final semester and the last moments for partying in Athens as a student. Due to the Fest Season party culture, students might drink or use substances more heavily. While the season is meant to be spent outside, with friends, without a care in the world, the weekend's festivities can also lead to unsafe behavior through excessive consumption.
Each year during the spring semester, OU students celebrate Fest Season with each weekend welcoming parties on a designated street. When Fest season begins, students come out in mass quantities to Mill, High, Palmer and Congo streets. The weekend’s events give way to increased peer pressure, potentially dangerous social situations and excessive drinking. Students also aren’t the only ones who partake. The notorious weekend typically welcomes visitors from out of town, increasing the risk factor due to the population and visitors without the same ties or knowledge of campus property and places.
It’s vital to act as a responsible bystander to intervene, disrupting harm from occurring or de-escalating a situation. Fest Season gives an opportunity for risk due to the number of people and substances a part of the culture.
The WITH US Center for Bystander Intervention is a national research center established in honor of Carson Starkey, a California Polytechnic State University student who died his freshman year on campus as a result of his fraternity brothers' negligence in getting him help following acute alcohol poisoning.
Starkey’s story, unfortunately, isn’t the only one. Although accidents and tragic events can happen, there is no reason to leave someone alone if they are experiencing substance misuse. Many experiences can be helped or reversed with bystander intervention.
In a survey-based study by the NCSBIS with a national sample of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S., 69% of students said they witnessed unhealthy alcohol use, and 54% said they witnessed prescription drug misuse in the past academic year.
With these findings, it’s clear the abuse of alcohol and drugs can occur in front of us, and not only on large weekends of celebration, but also in residential dorms and college homes. Intervening in a potentially harmful situation isn’t about getting someone in trouble, but about helping them get as far from a threatening situation as quickly as possible.
OU utilizes the Four D’s Model of Bystander Intervention: direct, delegate, distract and delay. This model is encouraged and taught on campus. The university also offers free Narcan training and fentanyl testing strips to provide resources for safety.
This intervention model is even taught to OU students in Learning Communities, typically a first-year seminar with students in a major-related cohort, led by a faculty member and a student leader.
“We encourage bystanders to intervene early and often. It is important that we do not wait for the moment of escalation or crisis to intervene if we witness something,” the Office of Health Promotion said.
Not only does OU teach intervention, but federal laws also encourage it. Good Samaritan Laws exist to encourage bystanders to provide emergency help without fear of legal consequences. These vary from state to state, and Ohio has two primary laws, one granting immunity for a minor drug possession for the person who overdoses, as well as the person who called 911 for help, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The law can only be used twice.
Reasons why people might fail to intervene as bystanders to a harmful or threatening situation might be the failure to notice, failure to diagnose the situation, failure to take responsibility or a lack of skills in not knowing what to say or do to de-escalate.
It is okay to be human and make mistakes. But when it comes to the livelihoods of each other, if you see something, you need to do something. Get involved, find someone to help, interrupt the situation and be there for the person in need.
During the Fest Season, it’s important to enjoy the season and unwind as the school year comes to a close. How you partake in the festivities is up to you, but do so responsibly. If you think something is off, check on the situation. It is up to all of us to look out for one another and keep each other safe, no matter a stranger or a best friend. Be a good bystander, Bobcats.
The Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage. Have thoughts? The Post can be reached via editor@thepostathens.com
