City and campus officials discussed their visions for reducing alcohol consumption among students at a panel about the UW-Madison drinking culture Wednesday.
Assistant Dean of Students Ervin Cox said the drinking habits of students at UW-Madison stem from cultural norms that encourage alcohol consumption, such as football gamedays and the high number of bars surrounding campus.
""It's an embarrassing problem where half the students are not in the student section at kickoff,"" he said. ""It's more about the drinking here than it is about football.""
He said to change this culture, UW-Madison officials and students need to implement programs that send out a message discouraging alcohol consumption such as the ""show and blow"" program at football games and mandatory alcohol classes for incoming freshmen.
Austin Buerosse, the UW-Madison student representative to the city's Alcohol License Review Committee, said city officials are working to reduce the number of bars in the downtown area in an attempt to curb drinking among students.
According to Buerosse, however, eliminating bars cannot be the only solution to the drinking culture on campus.
""If you crack down on the bars it will drive people to drink at more places that are less safe than the establishments, like illegal house parties,"" he said.
Several panelists said they believe along with implementing programs and reducing the number of bars in the area, students need to take the lead in changing the drinking culture on campus.
""If the upperclassmen would take a little more initiative to keep an eye on the younger generations coming in, it could bring the drinking culture as a whole down a little bit,"" officer Tanner Gerstner from the UW Police Department said.
Gerstner also said he encourages students to approach the police if they need help, even if they have been drinking. He said UWPD will not cite students for underage drinking when they come forward to report crimes.
Overall, if students are drinking safely and responsibly, UWPD will not get involved, he said.
""We're not looking for the person who is consuming alcohol responsibly and just enjoying the night, we're looking for people who earn our attention,"" Gerstner said.
