January may have just started, but we're already talking about this year's Halloween celebration. The Athens City Council wasted no time bringing back the fence idea for a second round claiming that it was successful in Madison, Wisconsin. Do fences really make for better neighbors? And, more importantly, are we talking about the barbed wire kind?
Matt
All but officially speaking, Madison's latest Halloween was a bust. The fencing plan they used shrank the size of the crowd that arrived. The festivities were considerably lighter than usual. Revelers spent less, but the city kept some money in its coffers.
The Athens City Council has not said that their goal is to kill the Halloween celebration but instead to minimize the cost. This fence, while being no guarantee of recouping city money, would inevitably discourage people from spending money on Court Street. This is just bad policy intended to appease non-student residents to the detriment of students.
Visitors from out of town are usually celebrated, but visiting students are treated as invaders and forces are being rallied to repel them. The City Council is ignoring completely the positive aspects of Halloween and only focusing on the costs. Plenty of research is going into how to limit the event with little information gathered about the positive economic aspects of Halloween.
The worst part is that it will become acceptable to fence in residences on Court Street, formally creating a student ghetto. My residence on Court Street might as well be in a demilitarized zone. Even if they allow free entrance for residents, I still shouldn't have to pass through a security checkpoint on my way home. My body cavities deserve to be safe.
The only fence that students are likely to find acceptable is one around a beer garden. It would be a great way to recoup costs, which is the nominal reason for the proposed fence. I for one would love a beer outdoors on Halloween, especially if Carol Patterson and the rest of the City Council are serving.
Doug
When my brother and his wife attended Ohio University, they used to tell me Halloween stories with a rare sparkle in their eyes. And, given the reverence with which they described the event, you can understand why my adorable freshman face fell the first time I heard an administrator mention Halloween. They called it the Halloween problem. They gave us wristbands, took away our parking privileges and imprisoned us all with interminable floor section meetings. My memory may be a bit blurry, but I think I remember something about unregistered guests being shot on sight.
The Athens City Council has taken a similarly draconian perspective on Halloween. I daresay it's one of the few things on which our city and university agree. So, I guess it's no surprise that they've decided to resurrect the criminally stupid idea of fencing in Court Street. Violence and huge expenses make for a compelling argument, but here's the rub: We live in the United States of America.
Now, didn't that sound patriotic? And, while you're unlikely to see me firing a shotgun into the air or engaging in any hootin' and hollerin'
I feel pretty strongly in this matter. People have the right to gather where and when they wish on public property. No amount of misbehavior can transform them into cattle or justify fencing in, tagging or persecuting the innocent. If they really want to prevent students from gathering, they simply should refuse to close down Court Street. Students can just find another, less suitable place to gather (Palmer Street anyone?).
January seems a strange time to be arguing over Halloween, but the hostility it engenders bears discussing at any time of the year. Hearing Patterson speak casually about abridging the civil rights of thousands made my skin crawl worse than that outfit Matt bought for New Year's. It's even worse than being constantly referred to as a transient population.
When I tell my nephew stories about Ohio University in twenty years, will my eyes be sparkling? Will he hear the bitterness in my voice? I think I'll tell him to consider carefully who he votes for in a city council election. When someone like Carol Patterson says she is pro-student, try and get it in writing. 17
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Matt Mossman
Court Street fence likens students to cattle
