May 22, 2001
Contact: Elizabeth Conlisk (614) 292-3040
COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University will form a task force of students, faculty and staff to put to use survey information regarding campus attitudes of recent student riots in off-campus neighborhoods.
“We’re trying to understand what causes events like those that occurred on Chittenden, 13th and Norwich avenues the last two weekends in April,” said William H. Hall, interim vice president for student affairs. “We have a lot of data to analyze, and we hope it will help us better target our efforts to stop this disturbing trend toward violence.”
Ohio State recently completed a survey of its Columbus campus undergraduates to gather more information about students who participate in disturbances like those that took place earlier this spring and last fall. Other U.S. campuses have experienced similar events, many with no apparent cause.
By overwhelming margins, Ohio State undergraduates agree that the riots are embarrassing to the university community and should not be tolerated. In fact, more than three-quarters of them say they have not been near any of the events, in which less than 1 percent admit to actively participating. Another 5 percent say they have been in a crowd and about 18 percent say they watched from a distance.
“There’s a lot of good news in the survey results—it’s clear that the vast majority of our students neither take part in nor approve of this sort of activity,” Hall said. “There are also a lot of things we need to look at further as we seek to ensure that our students can enjoy themselves in a safe and responsible way. As just one example, it is clear that we need to involve students much more intensely in planning and leadership roles.”
The survey was a scientifically random telephone poll of 565 Columbus campus undergraduates conducted May 7 to 13 by the OSU Center for Survey Research on behalf of the Division of Student Affairs. It has a margin of error of 4.1 percent.
The survey followed two April weekends in which large parties on several local streets got out of control. Police responded with pepper spray and knee knockers to disperse crowds estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 people, some of whom threw bottles, set fires and damaged cars and other property. The first weekend in May, immediately before the survey was conducted, the university issued a zero tolerance warning to students who hosted out-of-control parties and Columbus Police and state liquor control officers cracked down hard on underage drinking and open container violations. Eighty-five Ohio State students and about an equal number of non-students were arrested or cited.
Applying the survey percentages to the 33,191 undergraduates enrolled at the Columbus campus would indicate that 25,557 have not been part of or even seen the disturbances, 5,875 have watched from the sidelines, 1,692 have joined in the crowds, and only 265 have been directly involved in any destructive behavior.
The surveyed students were asked about their own involvement in the disturbances that took place last fall and in late April, their general impressions of the riots, what they believed were the causes, who they think has the responsibility to stop the disturbances, how they felt about the university’s response, their impressions of news coverage, and their evaluation of police response.
Only 16% agreed that “the disturbances are not really a big deal and should be expected in the university district.” About one-third said the riots had made them feel less safe in the area. Students were almost evenly split over who is most responsible for the violence and property damage, students or non-students.
There was no consensus on the primary cause of the disturbances. About 29 percent said it was party-goers drinking too much; 17 percent blamed outsiders; 12 percent said that it was a lack of bars for students; 11 percent cited party hosts who let things get out of control, and the remaining 30 percent did not know or gave other reasons.
On the other hand, survey respondents overwhelmingly thought that students were the group with the most responsibility for stopping the disturbances. About 76 percent said that they felt this was a student responsibility, while only 8 percent thought it was a police problem and 6 percent looked to the university. Another 3 percent each said landlords and beer distributors were the groups that needed to take charge.
More than half (55 percent) of the undergraduates believe the university’s response was appropriate. About 14 percent think it was inadequate and about 29 percent think it was excessive. But, by an overwhelming 86 percent, students believe the measures the university took have been effective.
Perhaps because the events are considered embarrassing, 61 percent said the news media devoted too much attention to the riots. About 34 percent thought the level of attention was about right, and only 2 percent felt more was needed.
Police response drew mixed results, with 71 percent saying that the presence of large numbers of officers creates a hostile environment that leads to violence, but respondents splitting nearly 50-50 on whether or not the police response was excessive.
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