genrel_031904aaa
March 19, 2004
Corvallis, Ore. - As result of mounting concern for the safety of students and staff, the Oregon State University Athletic Department, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety, University Risk Management, and the Oregon State Police, will begin enforcing "no trespassing" policies for any athletic facility not specifically scheduled or rented through the athletic department.
"The reasons for the strict enforcement involve safety and liability," Athletics Director of Operations John Cheney said. "We're experiencing increased liability concerns with the general public using our athletic facilities for recreational purposes; for which they were not designed. At the same time, we've experienced damage to several of our natural grass fields. With the anticipated construction project at Reser Stadium due to begin, we need to start enforcing the policies that have been in existence for some time."
The stricter enforcement will prohibit:
* Any pickup games or recreation on athletic department fields. * Running stairs in Reser Stadium or Gill Coliseum. * Other unauthorized uses of athletic department facilities.
"We apologize for the inconvenience, but these facilities were not built or intended for these purposes," Cheney said, "There are appropriate facilities for recreational uses on campus and in the community that should be able to accommodate everyone's needs without the liability associated with unauthorized and unsupervised use of athletic venues."
Jack Rogers, Director of Public Safety at OSU, said his department will work closely with athletics and the Oregon State Police on the no-trespassing initiative.
"Our main concern is for the safety of students, employees, and visitors to the campus," Rogers said. "Construction areas have obvious safety issues, but there are also concerns about using Gill, Reser and even the athletic fields for purposes that were not intended. It is safer for all concerned to better enforce the policies that already exist."
