Five Ohio State students were charged with criminal trespassing for entering Mirror Lake Nov. 11. Credit: Christian Harsa | Assistant Photo Editor
Thanksgiving is a time of tradition, and while some traditions may include eating turkey and watching football with family, there is one tradition that some Ohio State students haven’t given up over the past five years — entering Mirror Lake.
Five individuals from two separate instances on Nov. 11 were charged with criminal trespassing for entering Mirror Lake. All five are Ohio State students, university spokesperson Dan Hedman said in an email.
“Mirror Lake is not intended, or approved, for recreational use of any kind or at any time,” Hedman said. “Entering the lake, or empty lake basin, is both destructive and hazardous and is considered criminal trespassing. The safety of our campus community remains our number one priority.”
This is not the first instance of criminal trespassing in Mirror Lake.
Four individuals were cited in July, two were cited on Dec. 25, 2019 and two were cited in November 2018.
“The Mirror Lake Jump,” in which students would jump into the lake on the eve of the Ohio State versus Michigan football game was a longstanding Ohio State tradition until 2015, when it resulted in the death of a student.
In previous years, Mirror Lake has been fenced off and/or drained to prevent the jump.
“This is considered criminal trespassing and is not safe,” University Police said in a tweet. “We will continue to monitor the area.”
Names of the students were not available at the time of publication.
