With another Oshkosh Pub Crawl event proposed for Oct. 8, representatives from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh are starting a new conversation with campus and community members and leaders about the need for responsibility and accountability from organizers and participants in an event still centered on dangerous binge drinking.

“Caring, concerned communities such as UW Oshkosh and the greater city of Oshkosh have a right to publicly express alarm and objection over an event that can lead to dangerous binge drinking,” UW Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells said. “People also have a right to demand responsibility and accountability and speak out about the disruption to the safe, inclusive, vibrant place city leaders, business owners and taxpayers have cultivated in downtown Oshkosh.”

The pub crawl event, which has no affiliation with UW Oshkosh, has more than doubled in size since its inception, largely due to its promoters marketing around the state. In 2006, the Oshkosh City Police Department estimated between 1,200 to 1,400 young adults participated in a similar event. This year, the number is estimated at more than 2,000 participants, the vast majority of which are people who have no affiliation with the 13,600-student UW Oshkosh or the city of Oshkosh and no concern for the downtown’s and community’s safety and reputation.

An Oshkosh City Police Department after-action review of similar pub crawl events from years past notes that this event “centered on heavy drinking.” Police officials expressed concerns and difficulties managing the event from a safety perspective, citing that it was not contained and that most of the participants were intoxicated.

“Research and experience indicate that such events set the stage for binge drinking and create the potential for escalated incidents of drunk driving, sexual assault, unsafe sex, personal injury and property damage,” UW Oshkosh Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Petra Roter said.

 “UW Oshkosh recognizes that substance abuse is a serious concern to the University community,” Roter said. “The institution is committed to educating all segments of the community about the responsible use and the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Simply put, UW Oshkosh does not support or condone these types of events. We have gone on record since the inception of this event. We continue to be concerned about the safety and reputation of our students and our community.”

Student, public safety concerns many

In the spring of 2009, the Journal of American College Health published a study finding nearly 20 percent of undergraduate women are sexually assaulted during their time in college. The study also found that most of the sexual assaults take place after women have become incapacitated from consuming alcohol and are unable to provide consent.

Alcohol does not cause violence or assaults, but binge drinking makes already bad, and often dangerous, violent behaviors worse, campus and community advocates stressed.

Peter Truell, student coordinator for the Men’s Educational Network for Campus Awareness of Relationship Education (MENCARE) at UW Oshkosh, said, unfortunately, the nature of a pub crawl is one of the reasons his organization helps educate students on preventative tactics, such as empowering women who choose to drink to stick with a responsible friend or “buddy” for an evening.

MENCARE is a campus organization whose members “want to end sexual assaults and other violent acts against women at UW Oshkosh.” The organization is dedicated to campus-based education and communication encouraging healthy relationships and decisions.

Pub crawls do not help the mission, Truell said.

“An event like (a pub crawl) is basically celebrating public intoxication; it glamorizes this irresponsible activity that is potentially dangerous,” Truell said.

 “I think we stress that you have to be aware of the potential dangers, and that you have to keep yourself safe out there,” he said. “That’s really the least we can do — raise awareness about that.” “… What would be ideal is we could sort of isolate the group of guys who are perpetrating and deal with them, but that’s not an easy solution.”

Kim Hlavka, therapist and clinic manager for Winnebago County’s sexual assault services provider Reach Counseling Services Inc., said she has “heard way too many stories about women, particularly young women” making regrettable decisions involving binge drinking. Not only does it impair their judgment, alcohol is often also weaponized by perpetrators. 

“(Victims) come in after an assault and one of the things we have to deal with is the guilt they had, ‘that if they hadn’t been so drunk, maybe this wouldn’t have happened,’” Hlavka said. “When you are as drunk, as you are likely to get at a pub crawl, you are not as aware of your surroundings. You are not as aware of the warning signs. You are not aware that the person you are with is maybe not safe.”

Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services Inc. Executive Director Julie Fevola stressed that alcohol does not and cannot cause abuse. Drinking can impair judgment, reduce inhibition and increase aggression. However, she said it is frequently used as an excuse for violent behavior against victims.

“Perpetrators often use excessive drinking as an excuse for their relationship violence,” said Fevola, whose Oshkosh agency provides shelter and other services to dating and domestic violence victims. “They attempt to minimize personal responsibility for the problem by blaming physical violence on the effects of alcohol.”

 “We hear from many victims that the abuse is worse when the perpetrator has been drinking,” Fevola said.

Binge drinking, roving crowds dangerously distinguish event from others

Annually, defenders of the Oshkosh Pub Crawl cite comparisons to a number of other Oshkosh community events that include alcohol.

But, annually, and increasingly so, campus and community leaders disagree. They cite the accountable, responsible involvement of alcohol in events staged and contained to one secured location — community events that market and center on the enjoyment of music, cultural heritage or local food, not binge drinking games.

An array of Oshkosh community events have developed strong followings in recent years as the city’s collaborative downtown revitalization has provided new, quality, safe outdoor and indoor venues, such as the Leach Amphitheater and the renovated Oshkosh Convention Center.

Irish Fest and Oktoberfest events have developed in the last several years in Oshkosh, putting the spotlight on their respective cultures and traditional music at the Leach. Meanwhile, summertime’s weekly downtown Oshkosh Waterfest concert series is coming off a record-attendance year at the Leach.

At each event anchored at one venue, one location, responsible alcohol consumption is enforced, not shirked. Organizers of the events are also on site and accountable.

“Supporters of the pub crawl say this event is no different than Waterfest or Irish Fest,” Roter said. “The pub crawl is very different from these kinds of events. These events are centered on activities other than alcohol, such as music, entertainment and food. These events are contained, and ample security is present. Alcohol is just one aspect of events designed to bring large groups of people together, not the focus of the event. These events do not provide large quantities of alcohol at discounted prices, and binge drinking games are not a part of the event, as is the case of the pub crawl.”

City permit adds welcome level of transparency

While there is growing concern over the pub crawl, there is also growing applause for the city’s two-year-old special event permit process, requiring a welcome layer of transparency and accountability for gatherings that seek to use public streets and venues.

The city policy requires reporting of addresses, phone numbers and names of managers and coordinators involved in an event, in addition to documentation of the amount of special police enforcement required to keep the community safe.

“The city of Oshkosh has done a good thing in developing a policy that promotes greater transparency, accountability, awareness and, we all hope, responsibility,” Wells said.

“Ultimately, members of the UW Oshkosh and greater Oshkosh communities hope individuals, be they tavern owners or customers, make the best and most responsible statement by deciding not to support binge drinking, not to abuse alcohol and not supporting the Oct. 8 event in any way,” Roter said.

Anyone wishing to express his or her views on the Oct. 8 pub crawl event is free to contact participating businesses (below) listed in the special event permit filed with the city of Oshkosh: