As the sun dipped behind Ohio State’s campus Sunday evening, hundreds of students and parents gathered to remember slain OSU student Chase Meola and put pressure on the university to increase off-campus safety measures. 

The event, organized by the parent-led Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State, met at the new public plaza at the corner of 15th Avenue and High Street for “Light Up the Night.” Organizers passed out flashlights, glow sticks and signs that read things like “Buck Up, Ohio State” and “More lights! More cameras! More action!”.

Remembering Chase Meola: Slain Ohio State student’s mother, friends remember Chase Meola’s energy, selflessness

Irene Hendrick, a Buckeyes for Safe Ohio State organizer and parent of an OSU sophomore, took to a megaphone and stood up on a bench.

“Thank you all for being here for Chase. Thank you all for being here for yourselves, and thank you for being here for you school,” she said. “‘Together as Buckeyes’ takes on a whole new meaning tonight.”

Moms from Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State speak before a walk they organized  in the University District  to remember OSU student Chase Meola and put pressure on the university to increase off-campus safety measures.

Meola, a 23-year-old New Jersey native and fifth-year Ohio State marketing major, was fatally shot at an off-campus party in the early morning hours of Oct. 11, 2020. Since then, parents, students and community members have been calling on Ohio State to amplify safety measures on and off campus, primarily in the University District neighborhood.

Ohio State recently announced it is investing an additional $2 million a year in funding over the next decade to enhance safety and security measures on and near campus. The funding will total at least $20 million over the 10-year period and will go toward increasing off-campus patrols, including more private security, uniformed officers and joint patrols; additional mobile lighting and camera towers in the area; and extending the university’s ride share services for students into the Short North.

Several hundred people walk the dimly lit streets surrounding Ohio State’s campus in memory of Chase Meola. The 23-year-old New Jersey native and fifth-year Ohio State marketing major, was fatally shot at an off-campus party in the early morning hours of Oct. 11, 2020.

The group walked up 15th Avenue –– one street away from where Meola died –– then onto Indianola Avenue and down Waldeck Avenue to the Indianola Presbyterian Church. Some of the attendees joined the organizers in chants like “OH-IO, campus crime has got to go,” but most walked in reflective silence to the church. Onlookers watched from the doorways of their fraternity houses and beeped their car horns in solidarity.


https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2021/10/11/chase-meola-ohio-state-students-parents-mark-slaying-anniversary/5995264001/