Harassment and digital stalking can be hard to solve in the digital realm

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

Students eyes are glued to their phones, unable to escape the constant beeping and buzzing. With the need to keep connected, stalkers use that fact to their advantage when textually harassing their prey.

Widely known as “textual harassment,” it’s same kind of behavior that’s been happening offline for hundreds of years, Michelle Ferrier, associate dean for innovation at the Scripps College of Communication, said. As the behavior evolves with technology, it’s becoming difficult for law enforcement to track down the perpetrators, Ferrier added.

“Whether it’s on Yik Yak or whether it’s on other types of college platforms, let the police know and let others know that the activity is happening,” Ferrier said.

In 2005, Ferrier received racist hate mail through email and physical letters while she was a columnist at Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida. A decade later, Ferrier joined the fight against cyber stalking when she launched her website, TrollBusters.

That website provides a support system for individuals being cyber stalked, as well as a way to track the “trolls” doing the stalking.

“There are going to be people who can brush that off and go on with their lives,” Ferrier said. “There are others who cannot.”

Sometimes, the alleged stalker can’t recognize the signals that somebody is not interested and continues to persist with texts and other forms of telecommunication, she added.

“When does it cross the line into being criminal, I think is an issue we continue to wrestle with,” Ferrier said.

Ferrier added that the person who feels attacked should be “very forthright” in letting the other person know that a line has be crossed, and that they don’t want to be communicated with anymore.

“If the activity persists after that, it becomes stalking,” Ferrier said. “In that case, the individual should immediately go to the police and report the activity.”

Law enforcement steps in

Context of the communication matters in an investigation, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.

“If it goes toward the crime of stalking or harassment … all of it can be used,” Pyle said. “It’s more evidence to prove a crime.”

Stalking is one of the charges that can elevate depending on the circumstances, Pyle said. It can range from a fourth-degree felony to a fifth-degree felony. The maximum penalty could land the alleged stalker behind bars for six to 18 months and a $5,000 fine.

Those cases are directly referred to Molly Burchfield, Athens Police Department’s social worker, Pyle said.

The trickiest thing when investigating a telecommunication harassment case is figuring out which agency’s jurisdiction the crime is taking place under and making a report there, Burchfield said.

If the communication is coming from Cincinnati and the individual being harassed is in Athens, charges can be drawn up in either place, she added.

Regardless of where the communication is coming from, it’s best if the alleged stalker has been put on notice, Burchfield said.

“You can start by texting them back and saying, ‘Cease and desist, stop contacting me,’ ” Burchfield said.

If the situation involves excessive texting without any threats or a history of abuse, an officer can still make contact with them and inform them to stop contacting the other individual.

“If they don’t, then we’re definitely looking at telecommunication harassment,” Burchfield said.

The Ohio University Police Department handled 14 cases of telecommunication harassment in 2015, according to OUPD records.

University Involvement

Last academic year, an OU student was suspended after sending texts allegedly harassing a female student, according to a previous Post report.

That student sued the university in response to the suspension. The student’s attorneys said OU’s sexual misconduct policy violates free speech, according to a previous Post report.

If an OU student is being harassed over social media, the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance office encourages students report harassment to the department and/or law enforcement, Jessica Cook, assistant director of Civil Rights Compliance, said in an email.

“If the reporting party perceives that the behavior in question may also be criminal in nature, we encourage individual to contact the Ohio University Police Department or the Athens Police Department to file a police report,” Cook said.

Cook added that if the social media harassment is unwelcome and sexual in nature, the behavior could be in violation of OU’s policy regarding sexual misconduct, relationship violence and stalking.

“Students may elect to strengthen their privacy settings on social media, but that is an individual choice depending upon the circumstances,” Cook said in an email.

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Living on Mill Street comes with keg expenses, locking doors

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

This article is a part of a weeklong series examining fest season in Athens.

Some Ohio University students prep for fests by finding fanny packs and mixing drinks in water bottles, but others are laying down tarps in their kitchens and locking their doors.

Members of the Athens Police Department and the Athens Sheriff’s Office walk up to a house party and try to clear a path for medical personal to get to a girl who fell off the porch. Carl Fonticella | For The Post

Life in a fest house varies from the average rental property in Athens. It comes with high keg bills, locked doors and a hefty cleanup once the festivities are over.

Ashley Fowler, a junior studying health service administration, prepped her house with her four roommates for their first year living on Mill Street during fest season.

“We locked everything up and locked all of our rooms,” Fowler said. “People can use our bathroom but that’s about it.”

Fowler and her roommates ended up on Mill Street because it was one of the few places left to rent, she said. Fowler added that living on Mill street is a lot more fun during fest season, but a lot of work goes into hosting.

“Honestly I’m excited for this to be over because having a party is a lot of work and a lot of money,” Fowler said during this past Saturday’s Mill Fest.

Fowler and her roommates bought 30 cases of beer for the fest, which ended up costing about $500, she said.

“Once it gets shut down we’ll probably clean it up and go to the bars,” Fowler said, adding that she was a little worried about the cleanup process.

Others who occupy Mill Street year round found that living farther down the street lead to less people coming to their houses, and less cleanup.

Katy Joyce, a senior studying child and family studies, lives further down Mill Street towards the bike path and said not many people made their way down to her house this year or last year.

“We were pretty good about keeping our house closed,” Joyce said. “We weren’t too worried about how many people came over.”

Following the rest of Mill Street residents, Joyce and her roommates locked their doors and let a select few in their house, with a few trying to sneak in.

“When we would go in they would try and follow us after,” Joyce said.

Joyce added that her and her roommates are “grateful” for those higher up on Mill Street that let everyone in their house for fest, reminiscing about a time her friend bonged a beer off of a balcony.

Mill Fest isn’t the only time living on the street can be a hassle, Max Klepcyk, a junior studying communication studies, said.

“A lot of the fraternities have parties on Monday nights which sucks,” Klepcyk said, adding that other than those few nights and busy weekends, living on Mill Street isn’t too bad.

Klepcyk and his roommates have also experienced “random” people coming into their house.

“We were drinking on our porch last night at like one, maybe two, and random kids came up and thought they were entitled to come inside,” Klepcyk said.

During Mill Fest, Klepcyk was the designated door man — even though their door was locked — to make sure no one went inside.

Despite fighting off the random people who tried to enter his house, Klepcyk and his roommates still enjoyed Mill Fest and celebrated with their neighbors by buying seven kegs and 50 cases, costing about $1,000.

“Mill Fest is by far my favorite, that’s literally why we got this house,” Klepcyk said.

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Several arrests for underage alcohol consumption this weekend

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

Some Ohio University siblings may have gotten the full college experience — from the brick-covered streets to the flashing lights from an Athens Police Department cruiser.

Partygoers enter the Crystal on Court Street during Sibs Weekend at Ohio University on Feb. 6, 2016. Oliver Hamlin | Staff Photographer

While APD officers stood in the parking lot of the police department in the early hours Sunday morning, they saw a male running through the lot. According to the report from APD, the male, a 17-year-old, tripped over his own feet and rolled onto the pavement.

He laid there for a few seconds, and then got back on his feet. Officers approached him and observed a strong smell of alcohol coming from his breath. Then, he told the officers he didn’t know where he was going, according to reports.

Contact was made with his mother and he was released to a sober friend, according to the report.

The case will be forwarded to the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office for potential charges of underage consumption or unruly juvenile charges, according to the report.

Over by the Ohio University Inn, APD responded to a call at about 6 a.m. on Sunday about a male passed out in the hallway. Upon arrival, officers discovered the male was a juvenile who had consumed alcohol, according to the report. He was taken into custody and his parents were notified.

Another 17-year-old who was in town for Sibs Weekend was arrested for underage consumption on the Stimson Avenue bridge by APD and the Ohio State Highway Patrol around midnight Saturday, according to the report.

He was transported to OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital for treatment in reference to possible drug use as well. According to the report, he will be charged in the Athens County Juvenile Court.

Aside from handling minors under the influence of alcohol, APD also responded to an assault early Sunday morning.

At about 2:00 a.m. Sunday, APD responded to the area around North Court Street and West State Street because a male was bleeding from his face. Officers spoke with the 20-year-old male who said he was a victim of an assault.

Siblings experience life on campus through ice skating, a Harry Potter movie marathon and a T-Pain Concert among other events.

He refused medical treatment and did not cooperate with the investigation, according to the report, and the case was closed.

On Grosvenor Street on Sunday, APD arrested a male for driving a vehicle under the influence and for possession of marijuana. The report did not state whether he was under the influence of marijuana or alcohol. When they took the male to APD, officers realized he consumed an “unknown” amount of marijuana while in the holding cell.

The male was charged with tampering with evidence and is set to appear in the Athens Municipal Court.

One male OU student was arrested for criminal damaging and underage alcohol consumption on Sunday after wandering into a house that wasn’t his. He was sent to the Southeastern Regional Jail was set to appear in court Monday.

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Unwarranted parking tickets may be caused by ParkMobile glitch

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

In December, Christopher McDuffy parked his car, took out his smartphone, tapped his screen a few times and paid for parking. When he returned, a parking ticket was staring at him.

Parking Officer Cravens writes a parking ticket for an expired parking meter. Javon Cosby | For the Post

Ohio University implemented the use of ParkMobile, an app to pay for parking, in 2014. After 66,538 individuals used the app for parking on campus in 2015, the city of Athens added the app as a way to pay for parking Uptown in December.

“I would say I have gotten 10 or more tickets while using ParkMobile,” McDuffy, a Hocking College student, said. “They also gave me a boot on my car once.”

After each instance, McDuffy said he has gone to parking services to go through the long process of fixing it.

Martin Paulins, director of Transportation and Parking Services, said the ParkMobile system goes down occasionally.

Parking Enforcement uses an iPhone 6, Paulins said, to check if a vehicle is legally parked. The data is loaded from ParkMobile to the office’s T2 Flex, a software system. When that fails, it could cause someone to get an unwarranted ticket.

If that happens, he said students can come to the Transportation and Parking Services office to show the email receipt to prove a payment was made.

Parking Services is located at 100 Factory St.

“Feedback has been nothing but positive,” Paulins said, adding that individuals rarely get a ticket when using the app.

When students or residents of Athens venture off-campus to the Uptown area, they can use ParkMobile.

“We wanted to give people the opportunity to pay for their parking with an alternative source using their smartphone instead of needing to carry quarters around all the time,” Ron Lucas, Athens deputy service-safety director, said.

In December, ParkMobile’s first month Uptown, there were about 230 transactions, Lucas said. In the first few weeks of January, there were 733 transactions.

“We almost quadrupled when Ohio University came back into session,” Lucas said.

Discussions with the university about its success with the app helped the city make the decision to make ParkMobile available Uptown, Lucas said. He added that he is unaware if the city has experienced any problems with the app so far.

One problem leading to ticket confusion could be when someone parks in a spot for more than the two-hour limit, Lucas said, which is posted on meters.

Other parking spaces Uptown include some four-hour handicap parking spaces and a few 10-hour parking spaces, Lucas said.

Before ParkMobile, parking enforcement officers would walk Uptown to each meter to check to see if it was expired. With ParkMobile, parking enforcement officers check the meter and also check their handheld devices to cross reference license plate numbers with the app.

“We put Wi-Fi hotspots in them, so now they have a live connection to the park mobile interface,” Lucas said.

Lori Lawrence, a parking enforcement clerk at the Athens Police Department, said about 40 people use the app each day, and she expects usage to go up as Spring Semester continues.

“It’s good,” Lawrence said. “Everything has been going smoothly with (it).”

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Lack of trans residential policies brings up concerns

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

Psychological distress for prisoners could be an outcome of time spent in solitary confinement, something a transgender-identifying individual may face if placed in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, said Mike Brickner, the senior policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

Josh Vanbibber, assistant warden for SEORJ, said those individuals would receive the same treatment as every other prisoner, but concerns surrounding mental health of the trans-identifying person are ever-present.

“We do it for the safety of the inmate for him or herself,” VanBibber said.

JOSHUA LIM | FILE

Inmates placed in solitary confinement — otherwise known as administrative segregation — have the same treatment and privileges as other inmates, VanBibber said, pointing to TV time and a daily hour dedicated to recreation.

At the end of the day, though, they are still segregated from the general prison population.

“It’s easier to remove them from the general population, so they feel more safe themselves,” VanBibber said.

Reasoning behind segregating a trans-identifying individual is to avoid the possibility of them being verbally harassed or abused, VanBibber said.

“A lot of times that person of that nature would be preyed upon and possibly ridiculed,” VanBibber said.

delfin bautista, the director of  Ohio University’s LGBT Center, said, in terms of safety, they appreciate the option for administrative segregation, but other issues arise with that option.

“The emotional well being of the person being in solitary confinement has been shown to be worse,” bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said.

Training every employee in the correction system, from the police officer to those who serve in the correctional facility, is a must, bautista said.

The regional jail — the holding ground for many Athens offenders — doesn’t have any official policies on residential placement for trans-identifying individuals.

“(We should be) making sure they have an understand of gender dynamic,” bautista said. “Yes, it’s a jail, but it should also be a safe place.”

Knowing some trans-identifying individuals will have to interact with the legal system is troubling, bautista said.

“Knowing there isn’t a safe place for them is scary,” bautista said.

bautista added that the country as a whole needs to reevaluate the criminal justice system to address abuses in the system and of the system.

“It’s a complicated, multilayered conversation,” they said.

Brickner said movement toward reform of solitary confinement is taking place.

In 2012, the Department of Justice made its final rule on the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which puts specific regulations in place to help prevent against sexual assault in jail, Brickner said.

“When (rape) does happen, there is strict guidelines and accountability for those incidents,” Brickner said.

A big piece of the Prison Rape Elimination Act focused on LGBT prisoners, adding in regulations about what takes place in the 72-hour booking assessment for each prisoner.

“You have to consider their LGBT status when you do that,” Brickner said. “It requires individual assessments on trans (or) intersex prisoners.”

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex Policy which states LGBT-identifying individuals’ housing must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Pushing toward policies that make prisoners who are trans or intersex feel as though they are being respected is something Brickner said the rest of the country should be doing.

“We want to implement policies that identify trans and intresex prisoners in really affirming and respectful ways,” Brickner said.

Making that individualized assessment, listening to each prisoner, and making sure they feel respected and comfortable in that environment are factors Bricker said are important.

“They’re able to live as their true self while also maintaining the safety and security in that particular area,” Brickner said.

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Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail lacks trans residential policies

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

When a suspect who identifies as male or female is sent to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, correctional facility officials have no problem placing the person behind bars.

When it comes to transgender-identifying individuals, though, it isn’t always so simple, jail Warden Jeremy Tolson said.

JOSHUA LIM | FILE

The regional jail, which is the holding ground for many Athens offenders, doesn’t have any official policies on residential placement for trans-identified inmates, Tolson said, adding that the facility has never housed a person that identified as trans.

Tolson said if the jail were to receive a suspect or offender who identified as trans, the person would probably be placed in administrative segregation, more commonly referred to as solitary confinement.

“They wouldn’t live with either gender, but would receive all the privileges everyone else gets,” Tolson said.

Administrative segregation is usually used for violent or disruptive inmates.

According to a recent survey, 85 percent of LGBTQ-identifying prisoners surveyed reported that they had been held in solitary confinement at one point or another during their sentence.  The report, published by Black and Pink, a group advocating for what it considers to be the rightful treatment of LGBTQ-identifying prisoners, also showed that trans-identifying women were most often held in solitary confinement for their safety, either at their request or against their will.

Although the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail doesn’t have explicit policies on the matter, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex Policy that outlines housing assignments for individuals who fall under that umbrella term.

According to the policy, LGBTI-identifying individuals’ housing is considered on a case-by-case basis.

When evaluating each case, housing staff officials consider whether the housing assignment for an inmate who is trans or intersex would ensure the inmate’s health and safety and whether the placement would create management or security problems.

The policy also states that inmates should not be placed in a dedicated area based solely on how they identify.

Despite the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail not having policies in place for trans-identifying offenders, the Ohio University Police Department and the Athens Police Department do.

OUPD adheres to the university’s preferred pronouns policy, which was enacted this academic year. That policy allows OU students to state their preferred names and select their preferred pronouns in their OU Student Portal.

Although OUPD takes note of a student’s preferred name and pronoun, legally, the department has to use the person’s legal name and gender on police reports, Lt. Tim Ryan said.

“It would be common in the report for the officer to outline what someone prefers to be called,” Ryan said.

APD “reports what the person reports,” Chief Tom Pyle said.

Local law enforcement agencies have also taken it upon themselves to educate their officers about interacting with the LGBTQ-identifying students and residents they might encounter on duty. During the summer, OUPD officers attended the Summer Institute for Diversity Training hosted by the university.

“Diversity education in general is important to us,” Ryan said.

Ryan and OUPD Chief Andrew Powers attended the week-long summer training program, where they learned how to include diversity training in day-to-day police operations, Ryan said.

“It was pretty all-inclusive,” Ryan said. “The goal was to help people become educated about (diversity).”

The institute would give officers different scenarios they might encounter and had the officers rank their comfort level as low, medium or high for each, Ryan said. He added that the instructor tried to push people out of their comfort zone of what they would normally be used to be talking about.

“It was a lot of interactive learning that took place,” Ryan said.

Pyle attended the Summer Institute for Diversity Training in 2011 and said he learned how to teach his officers about diversity.

“A lot of people ask, ‘When’s the last time you did diversity education,’ ” Pyle said. “Well, for us it’s pretty much ongoing.”

Everything APD talks about and trains for relates to how to deal with diverse populations, he said.

“We all stereotype. We all have prejudice,” Pyle said. “It’s what we do with those things that matter.”

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Ohio University sees an increase in sex-crime reports this year

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

JOSHUA LIM | FILE

This time in 2014, the Ohio University Police Department received six sex-related crime reports. This year, it’s received almost quadruple the amount.

So far, OUPD has received 23 reports of sex-related crime in 2015 that vary from alleged public indecency charges to alleged rapes.

Although that number may seem high, OUPD’s Lt. Tim Ryan said sex-related crimes may not be on the rise. He added that the high number of reports may just be part of increased reporting among survivors.

“I’d like to think it has something to do with maybe messaging and outreach, but it’s really hard to say,” Ryan said.

Ryan added that there is a countrywide effort to make the reporting process “an approachable one.”

In the past, Ohio University’s Survivor Advocacy Program worked very well with OUPD, Ryan said. Additionally, the Athens Police Department and the Athens County Sheriff’s Office each keep a survivor advocate on staff. Those advocates can be accessed by asking the department to talk to an advocate.

Delaney Anderson, the former program coordinator for OUSAP, left her position in October, leaving OUSAP without a licensed and credentialed program coordinator. The university is looking to reevaluate the position, and for now people are asked to reach out to Counseling and Psychological Services and Campus Care for confidential support, according to a previous Post report.

“I hope victims are seeing the support that’s out there and making the decision to report because of that,” Ryan said.

In the past six years, reports of sex-related crimes have fluctuated, with the last peak taking place in 2010 with 23 reports total.

Chance Brinkman-Sull

Though OUPD has seen an increase in reports of sex-related crimes, the city of Athens has not, APD Chief Tom Pyle said.

“There’s two different environments we’re dealing with,” Pyle said. “You have the campus environment, and you have the off-campus environment.”

Even though the statistics for each location vary, Ryan said numbers don’t always accurately portray what’s really going on.

“Statistics are really hard for a police department to get our head around because it’s hard to tell if you’re actually deterring crime or not,” Ryan said, adding that it’s hard to say why incident rates are higher or lower from year to year.

Ryan said OUPD Chief Andrew Powers has conversations with other college police departments, and other campuses have also seen an increase in reports.

When someone approaches OUPD about reporting a sex-related crime, the department takes him or her through the steps before proceeding to an investigation.

“We start by explaining the process so that person knows what they’re about to get into if they choose to,” Ryan said.

Court processes, evidence collection and general investigation procedures for sexual assaults are discussed, Ryan said.

“Sometimes victims choose to go that road and pursue the criminal prosecution,” Ryan said. “Sometimes they do not.”

In Powers’ recent email to university students, it was outlined that most of the sex-related crimes on campus this year started with consent, but it was revoked later in the encounter.

“When consent is revoked, you are committing a crime, and people need to know that,” Ryan said.

Some students on campus think the increase in conversations surrounding sex-related crimes may have helped students feel more comfortable reporting.

“I definitely think it’s been a really talked-about conversation this semester compared to last year,” Sasha Gough, a member of F–kRapeCulture, said.

Gough, a sophomore studying creative writing, said events like the video created by the university shown before The Hunting Ground, a documentary showing the mismanagement of sexual assault cases on college campuses, and discussions with professors in class are contributing to students’ education on the topic.

“It’s slowly becoming more of a topic people are learning more about than years previous,” Gough said.

In her social deviance class, Gough said her class discussed the topic of rape.

Patty Stokes, an OU professor and the adviser for Body Consent, the sister group to F–kRapeCulture, talks about sexual assault in her classes as well, Gough said.

“Students are bringing it up more often, so teachers and professors have to talk about it a little bit more,” Gough said.

Although discussions throughout campus are evolving, Gough added that the uncertainty surrounding Ohio University’s Survivor Advocacy Program is worrisome to students.

“SAP was the opposite choice. If you were to go to a professor, you’d have to report,” Gough said. “You could go to SAP and not have to report and still get all these different needs met.”

OUSAP provided someone to go to the hospital with you, among other resources, Gough said.

“SAP is kind of on the rocks,” Gough said. “It shows a lot how the university is prioritizing. It’s more about reporting than what the students might find comfortable.”

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Athens law enforcement find it difficult to charge graffiti offenses

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

Graffiti is considered “free expression” by some, but the City of Athens sees it as a $500 fine.

If a person is caught, a third-degree misdemeanor charge is handed to those responsible. There is also a possibility of 60 days in jail in addition to the fee.

Though graffiti can be found in multiple locations on and off campus, city officials find it hard to catch people in the act.

A mural by a member of the Guardian Aliens on West Mulbury outside of Bentley Hall. Patrick Connolly | Staff Photographer

“We see a lot of graffiti, very few charges,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.

Graffiti is a difficult crime to hold someone accountable for because it happens quickly and out of sight, Pyle said.

“The majority of it I don’t view as art, I view it as a crime,” Pyle said.

Pyle recalled a piece of graffiti that spread over the top of an archway to a building that required the person to be upside down to paint it. He added that other types of graffiti are unsightly on Court Street.

The mural wall by Bentley Hall is not considered graffiti, Pyle said.

“There’s permission to use those walls — it’s tradition,” he said.

On the rare occasion that someone is caught with paint in their hand, they’re charged with a criminal mischief charge, Lisa Eliason, city law director, said.

According to the Athens Municipal Code, criminal mischief is when an individual knowingly moves, defaces, damages, destroys or tampers with property without permission to do so.

“The problem is people don’t normally see the person doing it,” Eliason said.

In one case about ten years ago, someone was caught graffitiing in an alley behind Taco Bell, but charges weren’t pursued because there was already a warrant out for the individual’s arrest, she said.

When someone is caught, the court offers the option to work off the fine through community service, Eliason said.

When graffiti is found on campus rather than the city, the Ohio University Police Department classifies it as a damage report, Lt. Tim Ryan said.

“It is difficult to find the responsible individuals if they are not caught in the act, but it is not necessarily impossible,” Ryan said. “We do on occasion catch people in the act.”

About three years ago, Ryan and his colleagues caught individuals actively spray painting the Seigfred Hall archway.

Though some students think self expression through graffiti should be encouraged, others disagree.

Meredith Bates, a freshman studying psychology, said the charge for graffiti in the city is needed.

“It’s illegal and they shouldn’t get away with it,” Bates said.

Amanda Hall, a sophomore studying integrated media, said if the graffiti is on campus, the individual should be left alone.

“Creative expression is huge, so they shouldn’t be charged,” Hall said.

If the graffiti appears on a public office, Hall added that the charges should be upheld.

Rachel Randall, a sophomore studying social work, agreed with Hall, pointing to the creative and “thought-provoking” quotes inscribed in Ellis Hall’s bathroom stalls.

“It’s good to be creative like that,” Randall said.

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‘Letters Home’ notified parents of their students arrests

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

Some student’s weekly call to their parents or guardians can involve classes, significant others, internships and sometimes an explanation of why they were arrested. 

Each month, the Athens Police Department sends out about 30 ‘letters home’ as part of its Letters Home program which informs parents or guardians of any arrests their student may hold.

The program began in the early ’90s, and continues today as a way to inform parents.

“It was presumed at the time that they were funding their children’s education … (and) they might be engaging in high-risk behavior that their parents might want to know about,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.

Pyle said when the program was initiated by a previous police chief that most letters were sent out for alcohol violations, but sometimes it would be due to a DUI or a serious assault arrest.

“Now our letters home program is more narrowly focused on alcohol violations,” Pyle said.

Pyle said when the program was first initiated, students made the argument that they’re legal adults, and students’ parents shouldn’t be notified.

That sentiment still stands true.

“We’re 18 or older so I don’t see why they would send (letters) to our parents,” Monica Powell, an undecided freshman, said.

Megan Woolum, an undecided sophomore, said since most college students are 18 years or older, they should have the right to decide whether or not to tell their parents.

“I do understand how it can get to a point where (parents) need to know,” Woolum said. “It depends on the situation.”

Woolum added students deserve some privacy due to their legal adult status.

Regardless of whether or not APD reaches out to parents, the information is available to anyone who’s looking, Pyle said.

“I think now they understand it is a fact of life, it is a public record,” Pyle said.

Pyle added his department never gets a negative call from a parent related to the letter, and that most are thankful.

Aside from APD’s program, Ohio University also alerts parents when students are in trouble.

“The Office of Community Standards does parental notifications as well after a student has been held accountable,” Jenny Hall-Jones, interim vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, said.

When a student is held accountable through OU’s process, it means they have admitted to the charges or have gone through a hearing about the charges, Hall-Jones said.

“It’s more about reaching out to parents and having them be another person, another caring voice saying, ‘Are you making the right decision? Is everything okay? Is there anything you need from us?’” Hall-Jones said.

Along with the risk of suspension, parental notification is a good indicator of students not getting in trouble again, Hall-Jones added.

“It’s another way to encourage parents and to let parents in that conversation and make sure that we are not the only ones having that conversation,” Hall-Jones said.

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Long-standing tradition of stealing Athens bricks could lead to jail time

Julia Fair | Staff Writer

As students go through their journey at Ohio University, some may partake in the tradition of stealing an Athens brick, which could land them with a heavy fine and some jail time.

Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said scooping up a brick during a night out is considered a first degree misdemeanor theft offense and carries a punishment of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Though students find Athens bricks in multiple locations throughout campus, Amanda Williams, a sophomore studying graphic design, found hers at The Ridges last November with a group of friends.

On their way to an art event at The Ridges, Williams and five other friends saw a hole in the ground for construction, as well as a pile of Athens bricks next to it. Knowing about the tradition to take a brick before graduating from OU, they grabbed the bricks as mementos.

“We all had purses with us, some of us wrapped them up in our sweatshirts,” Williams said.

Williams’ brick resides safely at her house in Cincinnati.

Pyle said while his department doesn’t see a lot of the brick thefts in action, the ones they do see — usually outlined in a backpack due to the bricks weight — are charged.

“Some people don’t take them as mementos, some people take them, pull them out of the ground, and smash windows with them,” Pyle said.

Pyle recounted a time about 25 years ago when he and his partner chased down an individual who used an Athens brick to shatter the window of a bank, which was $14,000 to replace.

In an email, OUPD Chief Andrew Powers said all cases were between people who knew each other and called on faculty and staff to help in reducing the problem of sexual assault.

“We were in the third or fourth floor of the parking garage, we heard a huge window smash,” Pyle said. “We ran out to the edge of the parking garage and we saw the glass from Bank One (now Chase bank) windows laying in little pieces on the sidewalk and on the road.”

Pyle said he and his partner caught the student, who was walking home drunk from the bars, and was later brought into the department with an attorney.

“We charged him with vandalism. It was a serious felony offense because of the cost and the fact that it made the bank susceptible to theft,” Pyle said.

Aside from law enforcement officers charging students with the offense, local city workers are also upset by the timely tradition of stealing Athens bricks.

Athens City Engineer Andy Stone said the tradition of stealing Athens bricks that taxpayers are paying for is inappropriate.

“There’s a finite amount … they’re not making any more, at some point they will be gone,” Stone said.

Stone said when they have holes open up in the streets, they have to do repairs.

“The bricks are a part of Athens, and it takes a lot of labor to maintain them,” Stone said.

Stone compared stealing Athens bricks to someone coming into an individual’s private backyard and stealing items from there.

“The citizens of Athens don’t want thieves to take bricks from their public roadways,” Stone said.

@Fair3Julia

jf311013@ohio.edu