Fight For Your Right To Party

By Taylor Carney and Jazmine Reed

            One of the favorite parts of spring quarter for many Ohio University students are the street fests that start in April.  While there have been incidents in the past that caused the block party to get shut down, Athens hit a new record with the burning of a basement on Palmer Street. The fest was ruled a riot area and got shut down, and was later found out that the fire was ruled an arson.  After much planning with the faculty and law enforcement, changes were put in place for Mill Fest and may continue to be instituted in future fests.  Over 200 people, known as the ‘Green Team’, volunteered their time to walk up and down Mill Street during the fest to be a positive sober presence throughout the night.  Many students have their own opinions on their safety at OU and what changes they feel could be made to future fests.  “I feel pretty safe here at OU. To make things safer, they could outlaw glass bottles from fests” Ben Clos, freshman at OU said.  What changes will be put in place for future fests are still waiting to be seen.