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Of the about 50 people who gathered at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Friday, only about 10 were Miami students at an open forum on a proposed ordinance that would prohibit outdoor drinking games in Oxford,

The forum was organized by Miami's Office of Off-Campus Affairs and the Student-Community Relations Committee of the Oxford City Council as a way for community members to voice their opinions on the ordinance and brainstorm recommendations for changing it.

City council tabled the ordinance at its Nov. 7 meeting in order to encourage further public discussion.

However, the student attendance was lacking compared to the numbers of Miami faculty, Oxford City Council members, Oxford landlords, police department representatives and Oxford community members in attendance.

"I was surprised that very few students showed up because I thought it was a good opportunity for the community to come together," said Oxford resident Dan Hayes. "If students don't show up to the council meeting and the ordinance passes, I can't blame (the council). Solutions can only be reached with input from both sides."

The SCRC will bring the comments and recommendations from the forum to their Dec. 1 meeting and compile a report to give to the Oxford City Council for its meeting on Dec. 5.

"I think students and the community are worried about a few things," said Jen House, Miami's secretary for off-campus affairs. "What constitutes a drinking game? There's a lot of wording that can be changed to make it more clear."

One section of the ordinance says that drinking games and contests will be prohibited outside of houses and buildings where they can be seen from public property or an adjacent property.

But several community members spoke to the fact that the ordinance will not prohibit the underlying problem of binge drinking.

"I hope this ordinance doesn't pass," said Suzanne Kostick, a landlord in Oxford. "The culture of overt binge drinking will not be resolved with the ordinance. They'll just take the games inside."

Another landlord who spoke at the forum said bringing the drinking games inside would increase fire hazard and potential for increased property

damage.

One of the students in attendance, Miami sophomore Jesse Manders, said finding a different purpose for the ordinance would be most effective.

"A good first step would be for the Oxford police to more strictly enforce the ordinances they already have," he said. "Then the council could possibly look at amending the ordinance and work with the Associated Student Government and really come up with something more effective than bringing the drinking games inside."

Manders said he was satisfied with the outcome of the forum.

"I talked to one council member afterward, and he was receptive and understood the points of the students and legitimately understood the points of both sides, and we were both happy with how it went," he said.

Meanwhile, Chief of Police Stephan Schwein said the police department will continue in its efforts to prevent alcohol abuse.

"Any time you can exchange ideas and be open-minded, it can only help," he said. "We're anxiously waiting to see what council does and will continue our war against alcohol abuse, because it is a war."