Ohio University - Athena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

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Special Report Spring I Disturbance By James Ambrosio Photos by Bill Wade In what is becoming an annual, though unfortunate, event, uptown Athens erupted into another student-police confrontation on June 5, 1977. This Is the ninth time in the last 10 years that authorities had to forcibly clear the streets of rowdy students. Most students flocked to the bars that night to celebrate the end of spring quarter, and for seniors, the end of their college careers. Students, as has been their custom, overtook Court St. after the taverns closed, blocked uptown traffic and continued their party in the streets. Athens city police, Ohio University Security and Athens County sheriff ' s deputies, augmented by six Washing- ton County deputies, attempted to keep a low profile for the first hour of the street party, but by 3 a.m., the city officials decided to clear the streets. A 28-man police line formed in front of the Athens County Court House and Police Chief Ted Jones stopped his cruiser behind the line of officers. This is Chief Jones of the Athens police department, he announced. I believe this crowd constitutes a not situation. You have 10 minutes to dis- perse onto the campus. The assembled students responded with taunts and |eers. A bottle flew from the crowd landing a few feet in front of police. The police then moved down Court St. towards College Green. With billy clubs drawn, police fired wooden ••knee-knocker pellets into the crowd. Students reacted by tossing more bottles, but by 5 a.m. the disturbance had been quelled. Ten people were arrested, mostly on minor charges. Among the first to be arrested was Sam Crowl, English pro- fessor and chairman of the Faculty Senateduring 1977-78. Crowl was in front of the crowd, try- ing to calm the students when he was arrested. The charges against him 22 Spring disturbance

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Athens Festival Offers Film Forum By Kathy Reiley The Athens International Film Festi- val each spring brings to Athens a variety of contemporary films and video tapes. In a little over three years the festival has established Athens as a cultural showcase for independent film and video makers. The main pur- pose of the festival is to provide an opportunity for independent film-mak- ers to exhibit their works and to gain public recognition. The festival also offers the public an opportunity to view unique artistic approaches and contrast them with the commercial market. Festival ' 77 was a great success with an attendance of more than 9,000. The Festival drew local interest from the city and University as well as state and national recognition. A total of over 300 films were entered in the competition. These included entries in the fields of animation, documenta- ries, experimental features, video films and short narratives. Films were submitted from the USA, France, the Netherlands, Canada, India and other countries. Among the most popular of the entries, particularly with the stu- dents, were the animated films and documentaries. The festival served the public with creative work on a wide range of top- ics and without the restrictions imposed by the box office. The artist benefited by gaining exposure of his film to audience response. Much of the success of the Athens International Film Festival is credited to Guilio Scalinger, the festival ' s direc- tor. The work of Scalinger and his staff made the 16 days of film activities a spring event that was exciting as well as entertaining. Greg Smith Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest was part of Athens Film Festival activities. Greg Smith Controversial film Icli Amin Dada attracted many curious film-goers. Film Festival 21

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• ' ft ' ■ ' . ; 7 ' n were later dropped. Estimates of the crowd varied between 500 and 1 000 people and the disturbance was similar to the one in 1976. After that incident, the fledgling Student Senate issued a scathing report which criticized and primarily blamed the police. This year there were no reports; nei- ther side publicly accused the other of starting the confrontation. Typical feelings were best expressed by Vice-President and Dean of Students Carol Harter who called the disturbance ' •totally without rea- son or cause and beyond excuse. Officials are puzzled as how to avoid future occurrences. They have dis- cussed ways giving students an alter- native to uptown bars on potential trouble weekends. Whether such efforts will result in avoiding similar confrontations remains to be seen. ' This is Chief Jones of the Athens police department. I believe this crowd constitutes a riot situation. You have 10 minutes to disperse onto the cam- pus One of several arrests made when the evening ' s activities became more turbulent. Spring disturbance 23