Emily Bohatch | Reporter
Officer Zack Hahn stopped his cruiser on the side of the road to watch a tipsy resident wobble across Athens' west side.
It was “Bar:30”on the Friday night shift, as Hahn liked to call it, and bargoers were beginning their long stagger home.
“People like that sometimes are worth keeping an eye on,” he said. “(You have to) make sure they’re walking with a purpose.”
During the first three hours of Hanh’s shift, most of the calls from Ohio University included cases of public intoxication, which he maintained was fairly typical.
“It’s definitely a quiet night, that’s for sure,” he added.
Those kind of “quiet nights” are becoming more and more common for the Ohio University Police Department.
Since 2013, the number of alcohol related incidents fielded by OUPD has decreased by 30 percent, hitting a five year low, according to an analysis of police records.
“I feel like we haven’t been getting as many calls to the dorms for alcohol, which I feel like last year we were always in the dorms for alcohol violations,” Hanh said. “Yeah, we still get them, but they’re not every single night.”
A few years ago, that was a completely different story. In 2013, OUPD responded to a total of 317 alcohol-related incidents, almost all of which were on campus. About 63 percent of students reported drinking five or more drinks in a week, according to a biannual survey conducted by the university. In 2015, 43 percent of OU students were considered heavy episodic drinkers, according to university records.
It was “Bar:30”on the Friday night shift, as Hahn liked to call it, and bargoers were beginning their long stagger home.
“People like that sometimes are worth keeping an eye on,” he said. “(You have to) make sure they’re walking with a purpose.”
During the first three hours of Hanh’s shift, most of the calls from Ohio University included cases of public intoxication, which he maintained was fairly typical.
“It’s definitely a quiet night, that’s for sure,” he added.
Those kind of “quiet nights” are becoming more and more common for the Ohio University Police Department.
Since 2013, the number of alcohol related incidents fielded by OUPD has decreased by 30 percent, hitting a five year low, according to an analysis of police records.
“I feel like we haven’t been getting as many calls to the dorms for alcohol, which I feel like last year we were always in the dorms for alcohol violations,” Hanh said. “Yeah, we still get them, but they’re not every single night.”
A few years ago, that was a completely different story. In 2013, OUPD responded to a total of 317 alcohol-related incidents, almost all of which were on campus. About 63 percent of students reported drinking five or more drinks in a week, according to a biannual survey conducted by the university. In 2015, 43 percent of OU students were considered heavy episodic drinkers, according to university records.
OU sought outside consultation and was evaluated by The Alcohol Prevention Coalition, which evaluates the drinking regulations of universities across the country, including Miami University. In May 2013, the coalition deemed that OU’s regulation was largely below average, giving them a D- in the “institutionalization" category.
“OU demonstrates a weak level of commitment to alcohol prevention at an organizational level,” the report said, adding that regulations need to serve in a “proactive rather than reactive manner.”
The following academic year, OU did exactly what the report described: reacted.
Ohio University’s Office of Community Standards charged about 77 percent more students with alcohol-related misconduct than it did in the 2012-2013 academic year. It was the most alcohol-related cases the university had handled in six academic years and earned OU about $265,000 in fines and fees.
“OU demonstrates a weak level of commitment to alcohol prevention at an organizational level,” the report said, adding that regulations need to serve in a “proactive rather than reactive manner.”
The following academic year, OU did exactly what the report described: reacted.
Ohio University’s Office of Community Standards charged about 77 percent more students with alcohol-related misconduct than it did in the 2012-2013 academic year. It was the most alcohol-related cases the university had handled in six academic years and earned OU about $265,000 in fines and fees.
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Dubbed the Campus Alcohol Prevention Action Plan, the multi-page report evaluating OU highlighted a need for stronger action on the university’s part when it comes to regulating alcohol.
The lack of regulation costs OU about $7.2 million a year in alcohol-related costs including property damage and counseling, by The Alcohol Prevention Coalition’s estimate.
The recommendations ranged from devoting a full-time staff member to the cause to cutting down on the number of programs used to educate students about alcohol — at the time, OU reported having 14.
“I think anything we can do to educate people about these topics, even if it helps one person make a better choice, then it’s worth it, to me,” OUPD Chief Andrew Powers said. “How effective those measures have been, I don’t know.”
Terry Koons, the associate director for the Campus Involvement Center, said the university has cut down on its programs, focusing on Alcohol Edu and Choices — both programs administered to students during their freshman year.
The focus of the report, though, drifted to off-campus alcohol regulation, where the report said 51 percent of freshman drinking took place.
The report also suggested keeping a closer eye on drinking habits associated with Sorority and Fraternity Life, Mom’s Weekend and spring fests.
This year, officials from OU’s office of Student Affairs teamed up with members of Athens City Council to address the issue of fests. Though the task force has yet to do anything, council members received a lot of complaints from the community after last year’s Number Fest. Many Athens residents called for the end of Number Fest, though council was unable to propose any regulations because the event venue is outside of the city.
Koons added that OU worked with Athens officials on implementation of the nuisance party law, a law that allows police to shut down a party for a number of reasons.
Otherwise, the university has put no other recommendation into place, Koons said.
The lack of regulation costs OU about $7.2 million a year in alcohol-related costs including property damage and counseling, by The Alcohol Prevention Coalition’s estimate.
The recommendations ranged from devoting a full-time staff member to the cause to cutting down on the number of programs used to educate students about alcohol — at the time, OU reported having 14.
“I think anything we can do to educate people about these topics, even if it helps one person make a better choice, then it’s worth it, to me,” OUPD Chief Andrew Powers said. “How effective those measures have been, I don’t know.”
Terry Koons, the associate director for the Campus Involvement Center, said the university has cut down on its programs, focusing on Alcohol Edu and Choices — both programs administered to students during their freshman year.
The focus of the report, though, drifted to off-campus alcohol regulation, where the report said 51 percent of freshman drinking took place.
The report also suggested keeping a closer eye on drinking habits associated with Sorority and Fraternity Life, Mom’s Weekend and spring fests.
This year, officials from OU’s office of Student Affairs teamed up with members of Athens City Council to address the issue of fests. Though the task force has yet to do anything, council members received a lot of complaints from the community after last year’s Number Fest. Many Athens residents called for the end of Number Fest, though council was unable to propose any regulations because the event venue is outside of the city.
Koons added that OU worked with Athens officials on implementation of the nuisance party law, a law that allows police to shut down a party for a number of reasons.
Otherwise, the university has put no other recommendation into place, Koons said.
Community Standards: the problem in house
While OUPD’s alcohol-related incident numbers have been looking promising to OU officials, Community Standards is seeing a completely different trend. In the 2014-2015 academic year, Community Standards tackled more than 1,000 alcohol-related cases, almost quadrupling the number of cases handled by OUPD.
Some of those cases overlapped; after a student is charged by OUPD, he or she consequently will face charges from the Office of Community Standards.
“It’s possible that RA’s may have been referring or handling more of the minor or low-level alcohol offenses in the residence halls and not having to call the police,” Powers said, “in which case, it would go through Community Standards, but it wouldn’t show up on OUPD’s log.”
Director of Community Standards Martha Compton said Housing and Residence Life protocol may not always call for staff to contact the police department.
“I would say the vast majority of cases, they don’t need to do that if it’s a relatively minor situation,” Compton said. “They can have the students get rid of the alcohol, they can document it and refer it to us for follow up.”
Powers said when an OUPD officer does arrive at the scene, he or she can’t always take action, leaving the issue to be resolved “in house.”
Some of those cases overlapped; after a student is charged by OUPD, he or she consequently will face charges from the Office of Community Standards.
“It’s possible that RA’s may have been referring or handling more of the minor or low-level alcohol offenses in the residence halls and not having to call the police,” Powers said, “in which case, it would go through Community Standards, but it wouldn’t show up on OUPD’s log.”
Director of Community Standards Martha Compton said Housing and Residence Life protocol may not always call for staff to contact the police department.
“I would say the vast majority of cases, they don’t need to do that if it’s a relatively minor situation,” Compton said. “They can have the students get rid of the alcohol, they can document it and refer it to us for follow up.”
Powers said when an OUPD officer does arrive at the scene, he or she can’t always take action, leaving the issue to be resolved “in house.”
“Sometimes there may be Fourth Amendment issues as far as how they came to know about the party or the alcohol and things that might make it difficult for us to charge criminally, so they pursue it though Community Standards,” Powers said.
Powers added that students are not required to let officers into dorm rooms without a warrant, so some cases have to be pursued through university channels.
Compton said whether a case was referred to her office from OUPD or Housing and Residence life made no difference.
“If a student who was just in possession of a can of beer on Court Street, just in possession of a can of beer in the residence hall, no previous history, they can expect to get a pretty similar outcome,” she said.
There was a time that OUPD referred cases back to Community Standards, but that stopped when Powers began his tenure at the department.
“It was a matter of separating administrative process from the criminal one,” he said.
That problem is one shared by many universities.
During his time as an officer at Marietta College, Hahn said the university was prone to handling matters “in house.”
“Here at OU, you actually have to go through the courts, where at Marietta College, if someone got in trouble for marijuana, they never went to court for it,” Hahn said. “Here they do.”
Powers added that students are not required to let officers into dorm rooms without a warrant, so some cases have to be pursued through university channels.
Compton said whether a case was referred to her office from OUPD or Housing and Residence life made no difference.
“If a student who was just in possession of a can of beer on Court Street, just in possession of a can of beer in the residence hall, no previous history, they can expect to get a pretty similar outcome,” she said.
There was a time that OUPD referred cases back to Community Standards, but that stopped when Powers began his tenure at the department.
“It was a matter of separating administrative process from the criminal one,” he said.
That problem is one shared by many universities.
During his time as an officer at Marietta College, Hahn said the university was prone to handling matters “in house.”
“Here at OU, you actually have to go through the courts, where at Marietta College, if someone got in trouble for marijuana, they never went to court for it,” Hahn said. “Here they do.”
Drugs and Marijuana: the unspoken rule
Though alcohol charges may be up to the discretion of an officer, with drugs or specifically marijuana, OUPD officer Natasha Lorenz said there’s an unspoken rule.
“When it comes to alcohol, it’s up to the officer. We have discretion on whether or not to tell them, ‘Hey, pour that out and get moving,’ ” Lorenz said. “But with weed, it’s kind of like this unspoken thing where you always charge and you always confiscate it. You can’t just have them, you know, throw it in the dumpster.”
Though both offenses — underage drinking and possession of marijuana — warrant misdemeanor charges in Ohio, they’re often treated quite differently.
“We did clarify expectations with RA staff in 2014-2015 in regards to contacting OUPD about suspected use of marijuana,” Director of Housing and Residence Life Pete Trentacoste said in an email. “We reinforced the idea that RAs do not have discretion in whether they should call OUPD for marijuana. They need to call OUPD for marijuana cases.”
In 2015, OUPD saw an almost 70 percent increase in drug related cases, according to OUPD records.
“For some reason, this year, we noticed an uptick in calls from RAs and RDs of weed calls, odor of marijuana calls,” Lorenz said. “Almost every single one we go to, we talk to someone and they hand over a bong or a bowl or something.”
Lorenz said most RAs don’t even get involved with the violation.
“Now they don’t even announce themselves,” she said. “They smell it, they call us and they don’t even get involved until we are there, basically.”
In a survey conducted by the university in 2014, 28 percent of students said they used marijuana. Part of that increasing statistic is because of lax penalties, Hahn said.
“Ohio has minor misdemeanors, which is what traffic offenses are,” he said. “Now that marijuana is considered a minor misdemeanor, it’s basically, on paper, is the same thing as a traffic stop, except that it’s a drug charge.”
Community Standards saw a 62 percent increase in drug-related cases since 2011. Compton said that may be because of changing attitudes around marijuana usage.
“I honestly just think we’ve seen this nationwide,” Compton said. “I think the country’s attitude towards marijuana is changing and … I think it’s destigmatized pretty significantly compared to especially how it was when I was in college.”
Compton added that Community Standards’ charges for marijuana are very similar to those they would dole out for a first-time alcohol offense.
“When it comes to alcohol, it’s up to the officer. We have discretion on whether or not to tell them, ‘Hey, pour that out and get moving,’ ” Lorenz said. “But with weed, it’s kind of like this unspoken thing where you always charge and you always confiscate it. You can’t just have them, you know, throw it in the dumpster.”
Though both offenses — underage drinking and possession of marijuana — warrant misdemeanor charges in Ohio, they’re often treated quite differently.
“We did clarify expectations with RA staff in 2014-2015 in regards to contacting OUPD about suspected use of marijuana,” Director of Housing and Residence Life Pete Trentacoste said in an email. “We reinforced the idea that RAs do not have discretion in whether they should call OUPD for marijuana. They need to call OUPD for marijuana cases.”
In 2015, OUPD saw an almost 70 percent increase in drug related cases, according to OUPD records.
“For some reason, this year, we noticed an uptick in calls from RAs and RDs of weed calls, odor of marijuana calls,” Lorenz said. “Almost every single one we go to, we talk to someone and they hand over a bong or a bowl or something.”
Lorenz said most RAs don’t even get involved with the violation.
“Now they don’t even announce themselves,” she said. “They smell it, they call us and they don’t even get involved until we are there, basically.”
In a survey conducted by the university in 2014, 28 percent of students said they used marijuana. Part of that increasing statistic is because of lax penalties, Hahn said.
“Ohio has minor misdemeanors, which is what traffic offenses are,” he said. “Now that marijuana is considered a minor misdemeanor, it’s basically, on paper, is the same thing as a traffic stop, except that it’s a drug charge.”
Community Standards saw a 62 percent increase in drug-related cases since 2011. Compton said that may be because of changing attitudes around marijuana usage.
“I honestly just think we’ve seen this nationwide,” Compton said. “I think the country’s attitude towards marijuana is changing and … I think it’s destigmatized pretty significantly compared to especially how it was when I was in college.”
Compton added that Community Standards’ charges for marijuana are very similar to those they would dole out for a first-time alcohol offense.
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Marijuana offenses by state Penalties for personal possession of marijuana vary per state. Click each state to see what the type of penalty one faces, the possible length of incarceration and the fines associated with possession. — Interactive by Emily Bohatch |
The Fines: paying the piper
After shelling out $150 to pay for a possession of marijuana charge, students shouldn’t put away the checkbooks quite yet.
For a first time marijuana offense, Community Standards charges students $200. In college speak, that equates to either 28.5 Chipotle burritos or 20 cases of Natural Light.
“They’re almost getting punished more through Community Standards than they are through us,” Hahn said. “I had a student say how much it actually cost, and I was like, ‘Wow, I had no idea about that.’ I try to explain to them that this is our side of it, that’s their side of it.”
For each additional charge from Community Standards, students pay $250.
Luckily for students, if an offense falls under multiple categories of charges, Community Standards tends to be pretty lenient.
“One of the things that happened recently, we tried not to stack charges against students,” Compton said. “I don't want a student to come in and we’ve thrown the book at them, cause that’s not really what we’re about.”
Though that wasn’t always the case, now Community Standards tends to focus on a certain charge against students, she added.
“If you’re intoxicated and that charge fits best, that should be the charge that you are answering to, even if it’s also a violation of the law — which is another part of the Code of Conduct,” Compton said.
For a first time marijuana offense, Community Standards charges students $200. In college speak, that equates to either 28.5 Chipotle burritos or 20 cases of Natural Light.
“They’re almost getting punished more through Community Standards than they are through us,” Hahn said. “I had a student say how much it actually cost, and I was like, ‘Wow, I had no idea about that.’ I try to explain to them that this is our side of it, that’s their side of it.”
For each additional charge from Community Standards, students pay $250.
Luckily for students, if an offense falls under multiple categories of charges, Community Standards tends to be pretty lenient.
“One of the things that happened recently, we tried not to stack charges against students,” Compton said. “I don't want a student to come in and we’ve thrown the book at them, cause that’s not really what we’re about.”
Though that wasn’t always the case, now Community Standards tends to focus on a certain charge against students, she added.
“If you’re intoxicated and that charge fits best, that should be the charge that you are answering to, even if it’s also a violation of the law — which is another part of the Code of Conduct,” Compton said.
At the end of the day
Marijuana and drug incidents are up, but part of that is policing.
“They’re going to sneak pot somewhere and hide and we probably know where that spot is,” Hahn said.
Along with years of monitoring the same area, it helps that OUPD has more boots on the ground.
“We’ve increased our staffing over the last couple of years… and we’ve got more officers out there on patrol,” Powers said. “They’re out there.”
Though OUPD and Community Standards’ incident numbers are trending in opposite directions, Compton said things are starting to look better on her side of things.
“If you look at the number of students we’ve suspended in the last two years, it’s gone down by actually 50 percent,” she said. “Much of what we’re seeing is … there have been drops in some of the more significant violations that lead us to believe that students were likely making lower risk choices, which is a good thing.”
“They’re going to sneak pot somewhere and hide and we probably know where that spot is,” Hahn said.
Along with years of monitoring the same area, it helps that OUPD has more boots on the ground.
“We’ve increased our staffing over the last couple of years… and we’ve got more officers out there on patrol,” Powers said. “They’re out there.”
Though OUPD and Community Standards’ incident numbers are trending in opposite directions, Compton said things are starting to look better on her side of things.
“If you look at the number of students we’ve suspended in the last two years, it’s gone down by actually 50 percent,” she said. “Much of what we’re seeing is … there have been drops in some of the more significant violations that lead us to believe that students were likely making lower risk choices, which is a good thing.”
@emilybohatch
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