Crowds cause Uptown disturbance

by Andrew Roman
THE POST

Ohio University students gathered Uptown during yesterday's time change hoping to see a late April Fool's joke played on the city of Athens.

But the joke was on the students. There were no riots - unlike the turmoil during previous time changes - because local police, for the most part, maintained control of Court Street.

Anne Peltier/THE POST One of several crowdsurfers takes a ride around Court Street. Shortly after the time change early Sunday morning, students took over the street until mounted police confined them to the sidewalks.

Early Sunday morning, however, was not entirely peaceful.

Students who lined the street were cheering, crowd surfing and "doing the wave." Ping-Pong balls commemorating the event were dropped onto the crowd. Women could be seen on the shoulders of other students, and some flashed the crowds. Two men used cases of beer for chairs, and sat eating potato chips, soaking up the atmosphere.

The crowd thronged Court Street between Washington and State streets.

As the commotion Uptown progressed, police closed that part of Court Street. They also arrested 19 people - 18 of whom were OU students, according to an Athens Police Department news release. Richard Carpinelli, director of OU Judiciaries, said the board would review the cases of the arrested students.

Students eventually dispersed at 3:05 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time when police sectioned off the crowd and moved them off Court Street. Police used their batons as movable barricades, occasionally prodding students who were not leaving the street fast enough. Police also used horses for crowd control.

At the beginning of the disturbance, the city tried to maintain Court Street traffic, which contributed to much of the tension between police and students. Officers from APD, OU Police Department and the Athens County Sheriff's Department attempted to keep the combination of curious onlookers and bar patrons overflowing the sidewalks off the streets.

"It's like red rover, red rover, please let me cross over," said sophomore Julie Phelps. "How old are we?"

Anne Peltier/THE POST Athens Police arrest a student on Court Street early Sunday morning.

While most students remained on the sidewalk, at 1:25 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, a group of over 100 students broke the police cordon and rushed onto the street. Police spent about the next 25 minutes dispersing the group.

One Uptown reveler was arrested on felony charges around 1:40 a.m. EST after punching a police horse. Other students threw objects, including beer bottles, from apartment windows. Items struck police horses and the officers riding them during some of the disturbance.

During the event, students on both sides of the street chanted phrases such as "OU," "we want beer," "f--- the police" and "we're not leaving." Students booed every time an arrest was made or a student failed to make it across the street.

Mike Sostarich, vice president for student affairs, said he was "disappointed" by the few disorderly students, but praised the police efforts to maintain control, saying this year's disturbance was less severe than the riots of 1997 and 1998.

Despite a few unruly students, this year's event was more of a party and less of a riot, many students said. Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Services did not have to respond to any calls for injuries to police or crowd members.

OU senior Elissa Roman said, "The first riot (in 1997) was so much better because it was spontaneous. This is just too planned ... nothing is really happening."

The APD report described the crowd as "mildly tempered."

As in previous years, out-of-town media were on hand to cover the time change in Athens.

Hillary Copsey contributed to this story.