Athens County, and particularly Ohio University, has long took a stand as a sanctuary for eco-friendly and sustainable minds. The university was first awarded the STARS Silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in 2015. 2018 was the second year that Ohio University was awarded a STARS Silver rating.

The eco-friendly community of Athens county was the poorest county in the entire state of Ohio in 2016 based on poverty rate. This seems unlikely because of the growing nature of the University presence and campus here in town. Additionally Hocking College is a growing institution that is also located within the boundaries of the county.

With tens of thousands of students living or commuting to these locations each year, you would assume that a different rural county in Ohio would take the poverty cake. But, it is Athens that is stricken the worse by the ravishing nature of poverty. Walking down Court Street to class, it is not unlikely to walk past a homeless man begging for change on the sidewalk. This obvious lack of access to free or reduced cost meals is something that could be handled by the many college students located within our county.