Madison has, more or less, a world renowned drinking culture. Getting drunk is practically the Wisconsin past-time. And to preface, it's not that I am morally opposed to drinking or anything of the sort, but what I am opposed to is the danger that comes with the glory given to drinking in our fine city.
Last Saturday, UW-Madison hosted the University of Nebraska in its first Big Ten conference game. It also resulted in Madison being inundated with drunk fans. The entire area surrounding Camp Randall was a party all day.
The danger comes when there are thousands of people consuming alcohol with vendors who over serve patrons, sometimes underage students, who are unable to make the decision to stop.
At 7:15 PM last Saturday night, I witnessed this danger first hand. A young man in his early 20s simply passed out while walking down Regent Street. The group of people he was with continued walking, leaving him passed out alone on the pavement.
Few people around him had any idea what to do, and many were too drunk and belligerent to know what to do. No one thought to call 911, even though he was unresponsive and had fallen without putting his arms out to stop himself.
The group that quickly gathered around him simply lacked the knowledge to deal with the situation. I don't want to say that any single person was at fault on Saturday, other than the young man who allowed himself to drink too much, but there is a problem with the drinking culture in this city when it is so common for people to drink themselves so far into oblivion.
Three-story beer bongs are awesome, in moderation. I have also consumed far too much alcohol on occasion. Just ask my roommate who has had to come and get me from a party or wait for me to finish throwing up a few more times than I'd like to admit. However, I have never been so drunk that I passed out. Once you have to call paramedics to deal with a person who has had too much to drink, it is easy to see there is a problem, especially if it's not the first person to require medical attention that day.
One of the officers who arrived on scene shortly after I made the 911 call commented that the detoxification center was mostly full. Mostly full. The idea of so many people needing medical intervention to handle their intoxication level is appalling. Madison needs to step up its game.
I am not calling for more enforcement of laws surrounding alcohol purchase, or even tighter security around the game. I am asking that people act more responsibly. That's a hard word to deal with, responsibility, because it means that if something goes wrong, it is your fault. That, however, is the burden that must be shouldered when one begins drinking in the copious amounts seen in Madison.
This year's Halloween festivities are only a few weeks away, and there will undoubtedly be a very large number of inebriated people on State Street and in the greater campus area. I ask you all to be responsible, not just for yourselves, but for our fellow Badgers.
Jeremy Gartzke is a senior majoring in English and Spanish. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
