Zero Tolerance Continues For The Game

COLUMBUS, Ohio—It’s Beat Michigan week at Ohio State and hundreds of thousands of Buckeye fans will pour into the campus area this weekend.

With Michigan’s low ranking and no title hopes on the line, the crowd in attendance is not expected to be rowdy.

But Columbus and University police want to make sure everyone knows the rules before heading to The Shoe, NBC 4’s Lauren Diedrich reported.

Police are enforcing a zero tolerance policy, which means watching for open container violations and underage drinking.

For the last few years, the zero-tolerance policy has been successful—and authorities want to keep it that way.

Columbus City Prosecutor Bill Hedrick said that so far in 2008, he’s collected more than 350 underage or open container charges—a little higher than last year.

If caught breaking the law on game day, officials said, there will be no plea deals and violators will most likely be convicted.

Students who spoke with NBC 4 on campus Wednesday said they don’t predict a particularly rowdy crowd—just students and fans enjoying a century-old rivalry.

“I don’t think the rivalry is as strong as it’s ever been, but we’re classy students. I don’t think we’ll do anything like in years past,“ said Quanisha Major, an OSU student.