For the second year in a row, Ohio State University will try to control the popular student ritual of jumping in Mirror Lake before the OSU-Michigan football game by erecting a fence around the iconic pond and issuing wristbands for entry. The university says it's not sponsoring, endorsing or encouraging what had been a spontaneous student-led event, and certainly doesn't advise anyone to go swimming outdoors in the frigid fall temperatures.

Eric Pfander plans to take the icy plunge into Ohio State University's Mirror Lake on the Tuesday before the OSU-Michigan football game next week.

"I'm a senior," said Pfander, 22, an education major from Mason near Cincinnati. "I'm going to jump. It's tradition."

But for the second year in a row, the university will try to control what has become an increasingly popular student ritual by erecting a fence around the iconic pond and issuing wristbands for entry.

The university says it's not sponsoring, endorsing or encouraging what had been a spontaneous student-led event, and it certainly doesn't advise anyone to go swimming outdoors in the frigid fall temperatures.

In fact, the university's Public Safety Department website "strongly urges all faculty, staff and students to take proactive measures to protect themselves in the cold and snow. Extremely low temperatures and wind chill can cause frostbite or hypothermia." It advises wearing several layers of clothes, winter boots, and taking buses rather than walking to class.

The university "does not encourage students to jump into Mirror Lake," and doing so "is not advised," says a follow-up entry.

The university "has an obligation to provide a safe environment, just as it would for any activity on campus," said spokesman Dan Hedman. "If students are out and alcohol is involved, it really increases the chances of hypothermia."

The jump reportedly started in 1990 when students on a pre-Michigan-game march ended at the lake and dozens of students spontaneously decided to go for a dip, but it has mushroomed in recent years. Ohio State estimates that 10,000 to 12,000 people participated last year, Hedman said.

After the university erected a fence last year around the shallow, stone-lined pond - which is less than 3 feet deep in parts - many students decided to show up a day early and take the plunge in protest, breaking through the fence.

Police will be ready this year for any attempt to take the plunge early, Hedman said: "If something like that were to happen, they would respond. The situation would dictate what would happen."

The Undergraduate Student Government's general assembly approved a resolution this week calling on the police department to "as it has in previous years, avoid sacrificing general student safety in order to punish participants for alcohol-related offenses."

The wristbands are to ensure that just students participate and not - as has happened in the past - neighborhood teenagers, which "presents its own challenges and risks," Hedman said.

Pfander said he suspects that the potential legal liability that could result from an injury is driving the university's move to control the jump after almost a quarter century of a hands-off approach.

"I mean, I understand where they're coming from," he said. "I don't know how well it will work.

"I know that they didn't check the wristbands as strictly as they said they would" last year, he said. "I don't think it's a big deal. You go and get a wristband and have your fun."

Wristbands will be available to students presenting a valid Buck ID at the Ohio Union information center or the RPAC welcome center starting at 2 p.m. Friday. The latest students can get a wristband is 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

Samantha Singer, 19, a public-affairs major from the Cleveland area, said she also understands why the university feels it must take action.

"They're trying to take out the risk," she said. "Even though it's not university affiliated, it's on their property."

Asked whether the fence is a good idea, Singer said: "From a university standpoint, yes. From a student standpoint, no. I think it's sort of riled up the students."

Celia Wright, the president of the Undergraduate Student Government, is grateful that Ohio State is taking steps to make the jump safer, even though most students probably wish the university would stand down.

"They see the numbers, and they see how much students care about this," Wright said. "I've jumped, and I loved it. But I realized that if there was some serious injury, it could jeopardize it."

Controlling the jump is a way to preserve and protect the ritual into the future, Wright said. "If we're not willing to make those changes, inevitably somebody is going to get really hurt."

bbush@dispatch.com

@ReporterBush