COLUMBUS – Thousands of students are moving into housing in the neighborhood around the OSU campus this weekend and area officials want them to know that, if any large signs they hang from their windows, porches or balconies are offensive, they risk running afoul of their neighbors, their landlords, or even the law.
“The University Area Commission asks that residents refrain from hanging suggestive or sexually explicit signs over their houses, and that they bear in mind that the University District is a vibrant neighborhood that is made up of many age, gender, ethnic, religious, and social groups. Such a diverse community can only be maintained by genuine respect for all those that live in it.” –Statement from the University Area Commission
Commissioner Sam Runta says the board has gotten complaints in previous years about signs and banners with lewd messages aimed at female students or passers-by meant to grab their attention.
Instead, they got the attention of authorities, too.
“These banners just signal disrespect. Disrespect for neighbors, disrespect for community members driving through, disrespect to students’ parents, and especially disrespect for the women being targeted by the signs,” said Deb Supelak, chair of the commission’s Community Relations Committee.
Student Move-In will occur Saturday, August 20 from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. Central campus will be closed to all non-move-in traffic during this time. Significant traffic delays are anticipated.
Signs displayed last year, offering the kind of orientation for female freshmen that the women, their parents and university officials frown upon, were posted on social media, prompting criticism aimed at the students.
Area landlords say residents who hang banners over their houses are in violation of lease agreements.
City of Columbus Code Enforcement Supervisor John Hughes also says that, while official authorization for large signs and banners is possible to obtain, lewd or inappropriate signage “will never make it through this process and won’t be approved.”
Hughes says such signs are illegal and his office will issue orders to property owners to take them down.
On Saturday, approximately 14,500 students will move into dorms. Four new residence halls and a recreation center are open on north campus, completing the North Residential District Transformation that began in 2013.