E @GAI H DD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 02 2009
Carnage under scrutiny
PARTYING: Students dress for the occasion
DISASTER: Student urinates on WW1 memorial
! otorious pub crawl is criticised by civil leaders and alcohol misuse experts continued from front page ! " ! # shows that 52% of male students and 43% of female students drink more than the Government’s recommended guidelines. Cheap alcohol deals and club nights that cater to students mean they can go out anytime and drink cheaply. However, the National Union of Students (NUS) estimates that the average student spends £675 a year on socialising. Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, said: “Although drinking to get drunk is harmful to your health, at least a third of young adults admit to doing it. Pub crawls often encourage drinking to excess in a limited space of time which can also increase the risk to personal safety of those taking part. Regardless of age, when we get drunk our judgement becomes impaired and our ability to make decisions to keep ourselves safe is lessened.” Carnage UK, owned by Varsity Leisure Group Limited, told gair rhydd: “Carnage UK events are carefully planned, organized and managed… VLG communicates from an early stage with the local Police Licensing department to ensure that the events run smoothly. VLG wants the students to be safe and for the local economy to have the benefit of a boost to its late night trade, at a time of recession, without any trouble. “Stewards are employed to help students move safely from venue to venue… this is in addition to the increased numbers of security industry approved (SIA) door supervisors working at the venues. VLG adopts a proactive approach. A private company registered with the British Ambulance Association is always on hand
to provide medical care for routine occurrences such as asthma attacks, which are a possibility on any occasion. “VLG does not promote binge drinking. VLG insists that participating venues operate a responsible drinks tariff. There are a number of optional tasks printed on the t-shirts purchased by participants. None of the tasks necessitate, nor encourage, the consumption of any alcohol whatsoever. "When each group is scheduled to depart from a venue, stewards are instructed not to ask participants to finish their drinks but simply to make them aware of how long the group has until its scheduled departure time.” They added: “Carnage UK events offer students a choice of venues featuring various genres of music and different fancy dress themes. VLG receives very positive feedback from students, who say its events give them a great opportunity to meet people from different ethnic and social backgrounds and to enjoy themselves in a safe and supervised environment. "Carnage UK events are extremely popular… VLG considers that an alternative to events run by University Students' Unions promotes healthy competition, which benefits students.” The company also commented on the student caught urinating on the World War One memorial in Sheffield. In a statement issued to a local newspaper, they said: “VLG was appalled to see that one individual treated a war memorial in a highly disrespectful manner. VLG has the greatest respect and admiration for all those who lost their lives in the defence of this country. The perpetrator of this despi-
cable act will not be welcome at future events held by Carnage UK.” They also said: “VLG is taking a proactive approach to the supervision of the upcoming event and is providing extra SIA-approved personnel to watch over the war memorial which was the object of one individual’s vile act of disrespect at the earlier event. This will be provided and paid for by VLG. "In addition, a VLG Operations Manager will be contacting the Royal British Legion to present a cheque. In addition, VLG staff will be personally organising a charity collection at the Sheffield event on Sunday October 25 and all funds raised will be donated to the Royal British Legion.” Chief Executive of Drinkaware reminded students: “Regularly drinking to excess can have both short and long
DRUNK: Carnage-goers get messy
term harmful effects on our health, increasing the chances of developing liver damage, some cancers and depression. Adults of all ages should try to stick within the daily unit guidelines. "If young adults are drinking they should have a meal beforehand, space their alcoholic drinks with water or soft drinks, look after their mates and plan their journey home,” When asked about the recent criticisms of Carnage UK, final-year law student, Alastair Miller, said: “In reality this event isn’t even as bad as some of the other options available at university. Pub golf is much worse, and think of all the initiations that have just happened, where you have to down drinks. At Carnage you’re not forced to neck your drink within a certain time.
"Also, most people at university pre-drink, but you wouldn’t at Carnage, so you’re probably just as drunk as you would be if you went out to the Union or a club. I think Carnage is a great event for freshers, it allows them to get to know the pubs around Cathays and get to know one another. At the end of the day, we’re all adults, it’s our responsibility. Nobody is forcing you to attend these pub crawls. Alcohol is just a buzz word, people overuse it.” Third-year medical student, John Mason, said: “I don’t really have a problem with the idea of a pub crawl generally, but I don’t think it’s fair that Carnage charges you to go in places that would be open anyway, It probably looks worse than it actually is, with hoards of drunk people in one place.”