Oxford University Student Union has condemned the ‘Doctors and Nurses’ pub-crawl planned by Carnage UK in Oxford later this week.
During Tuesday’s council, OUSU added its voice to the national criticism of the events company. The motion passed described the Thursday night event as posing “a real danger to students’ health and wellbeing” and “a serious threat to already fragile relations between students and the permanent residents of Oxford.”
Dani Quinn, OUSU VP for Welfare and Equal Opportunities, further argued that some of the planned Carnage activities such as getting “a naughty nurse check-up” were “degrading and sexist”.
OUSU is unable to stop the ‘Doctors and Nurses’ pub-crawl. However, the Student Union is calling on JCRs and MCRs to not promote the event to their members.
The OUSU motion comes at a time of national furore around Carnage UK following the conviction of a Sheffield University student after he urinated on a war memorial at the end of a Carnage night.
District Judge Anthony Brown suggested that the company should take some responsibility for the act saying, “Carnage was the name of the organisation that promote this type of activity and some might say someone should be standing alongside you this morning.”
Since the judge’s comments, National Union of Students has called to stop Carnage at universities. 17 student unions across the country banned Carnage events.
Richard Budden, Vice-President of the National Union of Students, has warned that “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.”
Student opinion at Oxford is mixed, with many students in support of the comany. Tim Wigmore, an undergraduate at Trinity College, believes that “as Carnage runs around 50 nights per year, it would be unfair to generalise about their events based on one isolated incident.”
William Richardson of Somerville College supports this view, claiming that “whilst the depraved actions of an individual have been singled out and highlighted, Carnage cannot be held responsible as the overwhelming majority of students who take part in their events do not act in such a manner.”
However another student has argued, “Although students themselves are responsible for their actions, Carnage events almost certainly encourage binge drinking amongst students.”
Carnage UK regularly organises events in Oxford. Last year, the company ran a ‘dirty porn star’ fancy dress event in Oxford, which involved visiting six bars before the club event at Lava & Ignite.
Inspector Matt Bullivant of Thames Valley Police pointed out that previous Oxford events “have passed off without any significant incidents occurring”, claiming that “there is a greater understanding among Oxford’s student body of the potential ramifications of their actions should they become embroiled in any incidents similar to those we have seen in Sheffield in recent weeks.”
