UGA President Michael Adams gave fans what amounted to a stern talking-to this morning and warned Bulldog fans to clean up after themselves in the wake of another trashed campus following Saturday’s game.

“There are other things we can do [if the situation doesn’t improve],” Adams said. “I don’t want to start arresting people or have a heavy police presence. We simply ask people to spend a little more time to maintain our campus.”

Adams’ warnings sound menacing, but “a heavy police presence” is already noted in everything from open container citations to parking enforcement. If UGA and Athens-Clarke County police are going to be so involved in those other areas of game day crowd control, why isn’t it appropriate to include them as part of a solution to a chronic littering problem on campus?

His plea is definitely called for and appropriate, and he’s correct that “the students and alumni of the university are demanding some changes in behavior.” Whether the problem is alumni, students, or nonstudents just coming to Athens for the party, the reaction of disgust this week has been pretty universal. But why shy away from enforcement on this issue with so many fans, students, and alumni in your corner?

Photo: AJC