I am writing in response to the article “Fest arrests down, OU percentage up.” First and foremost, I would like to say I disagree with the detrimental way OU students were portrayed in the article.
The article seems to only elaborate on the fact that Ohio University students made up “49 percent“ of the arrests during the fests so far. That is not what we should be looking at, though.
We should acknowledge the fact that the arrests have gone down! So one can say that these numbers have gone down because OU students are becoming more responsible in the choosing and picking of their guests.
It also seems that these “non-Bobcats” usually are the main cause of problems leading to their arrest.
Another fact that should be considered is the knowledge that the number of OU student arrests has gone up when the number of Athens arrests is low. It is almost a no-brainer that OU student arrests would rise.
If you decrease the number of Athens arrests yet keep a steady amount of OU student arrests, the probability will rise. It is simple, elementary mathematics.
As a freshman here at OU, I have to say that I have so much pride in this school. Any time I hear a friend or acquaintance of mine bad mouthing my school, I get offended.
I may be embarrassed at times about some of the things that happen down here, but it is no more radical than any other college campus in America.
I will not say I’m proud of these arrests, but I am proud of the fact that the numbers have decreased here at the fests. Hopefully, if anything, students will look to this as a precedent, which could possibly lead to a significant and well-needed decrease in OU student arrests.
Zackary Gilanyi is a freshman studying media studies.
