In the 1960’s, the city of La Crosse was in need of a community-wide fun event for its residents and others to enjoy. Choosing to mirror the popular Munich festival, Oktoberfest was born.

Throughout the years, the event has grown and gained popularity, with recent fests bringing in almost 150,000 people (nearly triple the city’s population). While the influx of new people is wonderful for the economy, there also come the dangers of binge drinking and debauchery that the event has become infamous for.

While the sponsored events by the city are held at the fest grounds which run along Rose Street, students of UW-La Crosse have taken it upon themselves to celebrate all over the city, including on-campus.  The university does a fine job in attempting to deter excessive and underage drinking from occurring by placing restrictions on dorm visitors and by offering alternatives to the festivities including RECtoberfest.  While these are good regulations, college kids will be college kids.

The statistics from this event are staggering. La Crosse police issued more than 130 citations for underage drinking, public urination and drunken driving.  There are also many more tickets currently being processed and reviewed by the department.  Five houses got the maximum $1,134 ticket for hosting a party, with one such house having upwards of 250 people in their backyard alone.

What is most concerning, however, is the fact that there were 158 ambulance requests from Tri-State Ambulance, which is more than double last year’s fest. The calls were mostly alcohol-related and had an age range of roughly 18-30 years old. However, theses callers were not all students of UW-L or even residents of the community.

Nick Eastman, Tri-State Ambulance sergeant, said, “What’s most troubling about that is several of the patients we ran into were not from the area and were alone.”

The easiest suggestion for having a safe event is to cut back on drinking.  This, however, sometimes is an unreasonable request, so it is advised to pace oneself. Oktoberfest is a marathon, not a sprint.  It is also recommended for one to consume equal amounts of water to the alcohol they consume, as alcohol dehydrates a person quickly.

Students and residents are also encouraged to be in constant contact with their friends.  The majority of the calls received for ambulances were from people who got separated from their friends.  For someone who does not live in the city, this can be troubling, especially considering the amount of accidents involving the Mississippi River in recent years.

Chancellor Joe Gow said students need to take responsibility. “If they see someone doing something inappropriate, they should try to dissuade them.”

Oktoberfest is a blast. It is a celebration of the impact German culture has in Wisconsin and it is a great time to have fun with family, friends and classmates. It is also very important to keep in mind the dangers that may come with the event, and that safety should be regarded as the highest priority.  The city and the university can only do so much as to ensure a safe environment- the rest is up to the students.