Photo: Martin Klefas-Stennet
Pub crawls organised by student event planners Carnage UK have been banned by students’ unions across the UK as a 19-year-old student faces prison for urinating on a war memorial.
On a recent Carnage UK crawl in Sheffield, student Philip Laing urinated on a World War One memorial. Laing pleaded guilty to outraging public decency and faces a prison sentence after admitting to a Sheffield court that he was “the drunkest [he had] ever been.” The incident came after Laing had been on a seven-hour drinking marathon organised by Carnage and was snapped during the deed.
Carnage UK organises pub crawls up and down the country and is popular amongst students with thousands tempted by the offer of entrance to 10 bars and a nightclub for the price of £10. The Printworks in Manchester has played host to many of the organisation’s events.
However, the backlash following Laing’s drunken disorder offence has prompted students’ unions to ban the event. At least 17 unions have now banned Carnage, with many more distancing themselves from the company.
The most recent university to pull the plug has been Exeter, whose second Carnage event of the year was expected to take place on Sunday but could not continue with bars and clubs pulling out at the last minute and with police refusing to pick up the bill for policing drunken and disorderly students.
Carnage, run by Birmingham-based Varsity Leisure Group Ltd, organises events for around 350,000 students a year in 45 towns, has denied that the event is a drinking marathon.
Yet 19-year-old University of Manchester student Rosemary, who attended a Carnage event in Manchester commented: “No matter what they say, it is all about drinking. Although the night was poorly organised with no real sense of what was going on, the organisers didn’t really care. They just kept on making up drinking games and encouraging us to drink even more which wasn’t really an issue at the moment in time but definitely is in hindsight.”
Richard Budden, National Union of Students Vice-President (Union Development), said: “There is an acute and real danger to students who get caught up with these nights, not to mention the danger to members of the local population, and the harm done to towns and town community relationships.
“An increasing number of campuses want to see the end of these events and are doing all they can to stop them by prohibiting ticket sales and banning all publicity.
“They take students on pub crawls that degrade the participants, put students’ welfare at risk and lead to antisocial behaviour. They make their money and then disappear, leaving student unions, police, and sometimes even the hospitals to pick up the pieces.”
Laing’s actions have also been condemned by the relatives of war veterans and a number of Facebook groups sprung up demanding that Laing should be forced to scrub the memorial clean.
In a statement after Laing’s hearing, a representative for Carnage and VLG said: “VLG, owner of the Carnage UK brand, does not promote the commission of criminal offences. It is highly defamatory to suggest that it does.”
Laing’s case has been adjourned until November 26, with nine other Carnage events taking place last week and more expected in the coming weeks.
November 16th, 2009 at 13:57
You are going to get your little ass sued with this article – I have sent a link to the article to Carnage UK and saved the article as PDF.
The article is full of errors.
Good luck!
November 16th, 2009 at 15:22
This is a load of rubbish! I was at the last Carnage event in Manchester…. 10 bars!??!? Organisers doing drinking games???? There is no way Danijela who wrote this article has ever been to a Carnage events… As for the photo; it’s not even from a Carnage event!
Is this really the best sort of journalism we can expect from our student newspaper?
November 16th, 2009 at 15:30
Correct it is full or errors.
The only thing you got right is the idiots name who is renowed for being an idiot.
Plus this was a story over a week ago and before that. Its a little outdated.
But i suppose it is a story other than the other big news. PROJECTER DOUBLE BOOKED OUT. Shock horror.
That picture wasnt even taken on a Carnage. Your writer or photographer should be ashed. Falsifaction written all over it.
Im sure the printworks loves you writing all this seeing as you also advertise them on your website. Heinsight??
Love as always.
November 16th, 2009 at 15:30
I agree Sam
November 16th, 2009 at 15:32
I listned to a report with Wes Streeting NUS President he admitted he hadnt been on a carnage and only new what he saw in the papers.
What is wrong with student unions and NUS
RESEARCH. Then try and make it interesting.
November 16th, 2009 at 20:01
Steve, your spelling is atrocious. ‘Heinsight?’ Not even close mate. The writer should be ‘ashed’? Is that a drinking game that Carnage do?
Any attempt to sue based on this would be laughed out of court. In fact, I imagine the lawyer receiving the suit would probably advise you not to waste his time. And then spend a good quarter of an hour laughing as you leave his office. The sources are attributable, and any claim of note can be backed up with evidence.
November 16th, 2009 at 22:30
Why on earth would I want to sue? What would I get from it?
But seeing as you say the sources are attributable – Where did you get the picture from. People wear Carnage t-shirts on the events I’ve been to. Plus drinking games? As I said the writer has obviously not been on the events in the city. It looks like its just been copied from another website. This is probably why we don’t do any Journalism courses. My mate writes for the Cardiff Student Union and he actually spends every weekend looking for research and subjects to write on and its actually good.
Plus you seem very defensive.
November 16th, 2009 at 23:09
People get angry about an article on Carnage being banned. Carnage, the stupidest thing in the world. The biggest waste of time ever? Pressing issues people, pressing issues
November 17th, 2009 at 00:25
I think the ‘10 bars and a nightclub’ is actually referring to the bigger versions of Carnage across the country. Manchester is not the biggest, and while it doesn’t offer the ‘10 bars and a nightclub’, other cities offer that. Again, the actual activities vary from place to place, drinking games may not happen in Manchester (though Rosemary from our university disagrees), but may happen in other cities.
Everyone seems to be missing the point of this article, it’s not attacking Carnage, it’s reporting on the facts. Carnage is being banned across the country. That is a fact that Danijela is reporting on.
As for suing the paper, ridiculous.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:10
Steve, the source in the article has been on Carnage events with drinking games. Reports from the Philip Laing incident indicate there were drinking games beforehand. Surely you can conceive that that might have occurred? It’d be like if your frame of reference for football was a couple of goalless draws, yet I went to a game with a goal in it. We’d both have seen a game of football nonetheless.
I have no idea about the photograph; I didn’t write the piece and am not part of the Student Direct news team. I have no idea about the etymology of the story or anything like that. Regardless, it’s a solid piece of journalism that would stand any rigourous examination.
Don’t try and psychoanalyse me or anyone by calling them ‘defensive’, especially when your motives for being so atomically disgusted seem pretty suspect.
December 6th, 2009 at 00:46
hahahahaha cruddy mcgee is a joke….I have been to carnage in 5 cities and have never seen a drinking game in any of them…whoever wrote this is absolute idiot. They are fun nights usually without hassle..just because one idiot does this they shouldnt be banned but he should be punished…if your a student against having fun and drinking then I feel sorry for your boring lives as we will all get degrees but at least most of us can look back and no we were not wastemen who couldnt enjoy ourselves and had no friends!!