The town was painted green, clapping and cheering filled the night air and energy came pulsing from Peden Stadium after the Ohio football team's victory Friday. Many Ohio fans rushed to evening events following the football game and, although spirits were high with pride, the recklessness of some throughout the weekend -whether influenced by alcohol or not -cast another unwanted black mark on Ohio University's reputation.
Although the celebratory mood was to be expected of any college town that just witnessed such a victory, a line needs to be drawn when furniture and trash are set on fire in the streets, and objects are aimed at officers who are attempting to control the situation. It should go without saying that attempting to harm a police officer is not only well past where the line is drawn, it is completely unacceptable. The fact that OU is being tied again and again to out-of-control, alcohol-induced behavior reflects poorly on the school, the students and the positive spirit of university sporting events.
The bottom line is that there is absolutely no excuse for the disruptive behavior of this past weekend. It went too far and damaged Athens' reputation in the limelight of the widespread exposure gained from the game.
Explaining the reasoning behind the decision of a college-educated young adult to burn a couch in the middle of the street to the press and police is an embarrassing task. After The Princeton Review's declaration of OU as the No. 2 party school in the nation, the last thing OU needed was attention drawn to disconcerting cases of pointless and violent student behavior. Although being on the list of party schools might instill pride in some, and the list is ultimately based more in myth than fact, it should become a great shame when it compromises student and town safety. And after the ranking takes on an even more unwanted connotation and becomes more than a stereotype -it becomes the truth.
It seems that although most of the student body chose to celebrate safely, the riot-mentality trend among some caused much greater problems than it was worth. That kind of behavior only makes the Athens Police Department, the OU administration and the students who wish for their school's name to not be dragged in the mud to wince and sigh with an undeserved disgrace. The events of last weekend shouldn't be repeated; revelry is one thing, but violent idiocy is another.
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Destructive behavior inexcusable
