OU students, on their way out, do some good

As Ohio University students moved out of their dormitories and rental houses over the past week, they were invited to make a difference in the lives of Athens County residents by donating canned goods, other non-perishable food items and furniture to seven donation centers set up throughout Athens.

The donation centers, sponsored by the Southeastern Ohio Regional Food Bank, were open daily from Wednesday to Sunday and collected food items, toiletries and other household goods for 12 food pantries, one homeless shelter and three soup kitchens.

Athens resident Ed Baum, who was manning the donation center in the Palmer Place apartments parking lot Saturday afternoon, said the goal was to give students an opportunity to help area low-income families while keeping reusable goods out of landfills.

"Lots of students who are moving give to others,"� said Baum, who volunteered through the Athens Civitan Club, a service organization.

He said he talked to students who were disappointed that they did not know about the donation centers before throwing out used furniture.

"You set it out on the street and it disappears,"� he said. "All (of the donated items) will be reused if they're reusable."�

THE CONSTRUCTION OF a roundabout at Richland Avenue and Ohio Rt. 682 just south of campus, as well as a major maintenance project on the four-lane highway through Athens, did not deter parents and other family members from pouring into Athens, as OU students packed up their belongings and prepared for summer break.

Bob Littman, whose daughter will return in the fall as a sophomore, said his family always has enjoyed visiting the beautiful OU campus.

"(Athens) is a very pretty community,"� Littman said Thursday while helping his daughter, Michelle, move out of her dormitory on East Green. "We hear a lot about (the party-school reputation) and we know that they really struggle with that. But I think all schools can probably be party schools. My understanding is that a lot of people come here from Ohio State (University) and other places to hang out."�

During a break in the move-out commotion early Saturday morning, students in OU's Adams Hall once again were outside the dorm as a fire alarm blew through the halls.

Sarah Baugus, a residential assistant in Adams Hall, said the fire alarms went off several times during exam week. At least one time, the alarm was pulled as a prank, she said, but cleaning supplies also were causing them to go off.

Baugus said one of the highlights of her school year was helping to organize a volunteer trip to New Orleans over Memorial Day weekend.

As for OU's ongoing budget crisis, Baugus, who will return in the fall as a fifth-year senior, said many students appear to be complacent about the university's budget problems.

"There's a lot of paper-pushers, I would say,"� she said. "That's not special to this year. I feel like every year, more and more funding gets cut for different organizations. There's still different positions that don't really need to exist, I guess, at the higher level."�

Baugus said she did not participate in the multiple budget discussions held between OU administrators, faculty, staff and students this spring, but several of her friends who were on OU Student Senate kept her updated on the process.

"A lot of the people that I know are really super involved, so I think that (the student population participates in the process), but also being an RA, a lot of us don't know what's going on,"� she said. "And some really don't care. If Mom and Dad pay for everything and take care of it, it doesn't really matter to them."�

Baugus said some of her classes already are preparing for the quarter-to-semester switch in the fall of 2012.

Nineteen-year-old Natay Bates, a freshman from Cleveland, said she had no complaints in her first year at OU and said her year's highlights included making the dean's list and carving new friendships.

"It's been a very good year,"� Bates said. "There were a lot of people in my dorm who I'm really close with now."�

She said she'll miss "freedom"� while being back at home over summer break.

"I told my friends I'm going home to a curfew and dishes, so it's not something that I'll look forward to,"� Bates said.

All residence halls officially closed at 6 p.m. Saturday. Interim housing is available in Adams Hall for students taking summer classes and in Brough House for other students through June 30.