Parent-funded billboard urges university to increase safety, crime prevention measures

Paige Cirtwill
Tue, 28 Sep 2021 00:36:15 +0000
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A mock-up of the billboard bought by Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State along Lane Avenue in Columbus. Credit: Courtesy of Lamar Advertising Company

A new billboard on Lane Avenue funded by Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State urges the university administration to do more to address the recent surge in crime around campus.

The group, composed of parents advocating for safety on and around campus, announced in an Instagram post Friday that the billboard is meant to “highlight out-of-control crime in the University District.” The billboard says “College should not be a crime scene!” on one slide and “One is one too many,” on another in reference to Chase Meola, a fifth-year marketing student who was shot and killed outside the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house in October 2020.

“[The billboard] generated a lot of awareness, and it legitimized our group,” Allyson Reid, the mother of a second-year student and co-founder of Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State, said. “It showed that we’re here. We’re gonna be heard. We’re making a financial investment.”

The billboard, located on Lane Avenue east of North Star Road, was paid for using funds raised by the organization’s GoFundMe, which has generated over $30,000, Reid said. The funds were also mentioned in a letter posted on the group’s Instagram from Margaret Meola, Chase Meola’s mother and a member of Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State.

“We are using the funds for billboards and mobile ads to increase awareness and motivate the university and President Johnson to take swift, effective permanent action!” Margaret Meola wrote in the letter.

Reid said the group was formed in response to Chase Meola’s death in 2020. They meet with the Ohio State administration regularly, starting in November 2020. The Facebook group is primarily composed of parents of Ohio State students and currently has around 4,300 members.

In August, there were six neighborhood safety notices issued, according to the Ohio State Department of Public Safety website. There have been five neighborhood safety notices issued in September, compared to three in September 2019 and one in September 2020.

Angela Fredriksson, co-founder of Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State and the mother of a former first-year student, said her daughter transferred before the start of this year because her family did not feel that Ohio State was doing enough to protect students.

“She was excited about spending the next four years as a Buckeye but like I said, it got to a point where we had to make a decision,” Fredriksson said. “At the very last minute, when we were feeling like OSU was not doing enough to protect the students, we unfortunately decided to transfer.”

A second slide of the mock-up billboard. Credit: Courtesy of Lamar Advertising Company

University President Kristina M. Johnson announced in a press conference Friday the university would invest an additional $2 million per year in public safety over the next decade for a total of at least $20 million. The funding will go toward expanding off-campus security, including additional private security, more mobile lighting and camera systems, expanding the Lyft Ride Smart program to the Short North and hiring more officers to the Ohio State Police Department.

“I definitely applaud her for committing that money over the next 10 years,”? Paige Pagley, the mother of a second-year student and a member of Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State, said.? “If things don’t get better, we’re going to expect President Johnson to step up and do more and find solutions that work.”

Johnson said students’ safety is her number one priority, citing the formation of a safety task force and a $1 million investment in public safety after Chase Meola’s death.

“I met with our students who have been impacted by these crimes,” Johnson said.? “I know our students will never forget these experiences and I will not rest until this is solved.”

Reid and Fredriksson said they think the additional funding is a step in the right direction, but is not enough to address the issue.

“[The funding] is not near enough. If I’m being honest, it’s almost an insult,” Fredriksson said.

Pagley said she believes the university should also work with landlords in the off-campus area to ensure apartment complexes and houses are safe.

“The landlords haven’t been responsive, and I think that OSU needs to put the pressure on them to know that this is serious, that they have a responsibility as well to protect their students,” Pagley said.

Fredriksson said free ridesharing, or an escort service for students traveling at night, and town hall meetings devoted to safety, like Ohio State administration held earlier in the pandemic, is needed.

“Everybody loves OSU and wants it to be the best place for the students and for them to feel comfortable and supported,” Fredriksson said. “We do want to work with OSU in getting that done, we just need to find a way to get it done quicker.”