The annual street party which used to mark the end of Orientation Week at Rhodes University has been shifted to a different venue and date to ensure more responsible drinking.
The annual street party which used to mark the end of Orientation Week at Rhodes University has been shifted to a different venue and date to ensure more responsible drinking.
The move will also ensure that greater safety precautions are put in place, says the president of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Eric Ofei. The party’s official name this year is The Carnival and takes place on the Great Field today.
“Rhodes has a bad reputation for excessive drinking and unruly behaviour at Rhodes parties,” says Ofei.
“We have had lots of issues in the past and the university has said that it has had enough; if it was up to them, we would not hold such parties.”
This follows on a warning from theuniversity that if unruly behaviourpersists, such parties will be cancellled.
The SRC says the theme for this year’s O-week was “responsible drinking” so they deemed it best not to end the week with a street party with lots of alcohol available.
The SRC also wanted to use the event to let the first year students get to know their fellow students better. “The event will be held as a test to assess whether the 2010 student body can behave,” Ofei says.
Ofei says the venue change was inspired primarily by safety considerations. “Precautions such as blocking off the field with barricades and bouncers while police can overlook the partyfrom the Union’s balcony will
be put in place.”
The Great Field is a bigger venue than the section of Prince Alfred Street which was used before and the university can gauge more accurately how many people are entering and leaving the party.
The main reason for the necessity of safety regulations is to guard against unruly behaviour which may occur when students are under the influence of alcohol.
“The majority of students do drink responsibly but it is the few students who don’t that become unruly and unfortunately the majority does not stop them,” Ofei says.
In the past there have been incidents which have made the university sceptical of holding such parties. Ofei
remembered a party on the Great Field which took place to end the Intervarsity tournament last year.
“This event saw the worst student behaviour with students beating security guards and security guards being too rough with disorderly students,” Ofei says.
This year an entrance fee will be charged as the SRC has struggled to get the Carnival sponsored due to what Ofei calls the credit crunch.
“Another reason that we had to charge an entrance fee is that previous SRCs have had a budget to spend on the event” but this year’s SRC didn’t receive a budget for the party.
Pre-sold tickets cost R10 and tickets will be sold for R20 at the entrance. Measures have been put
in place for those students who cannot afford tickets.
“We have identified students who need financial aid and we have made plans to provide those students with free tickets,” Ofei says.
