OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Oshkosh's new nuisance party law appeared to have an impact on the city's biannual pub crawl, with residents saying the event was quieter and less violent than in years past.
Saturday marked the first pub crawl since the Oshkosh Common Council unanimously passed the ordinance in September to strengthen law enforcement around the event — an unsanctioned tradition of bar hopping that spawns house parties near the UW-Oshkosh campus.
Dalton Pehm, a fraternity president, said the event played out differently this year.
"It needs to get shut down. Well, actually, pub crawl last night, it was dead. Nobody was out," Pehm said.
Last spring's pub crawl generated 65 service calls, 41 citations and 10 arrests, resulting in a nearly $50,000 cost to the police department. A 23-year-old man was also arrested and charged following an alleged shooting near the UWO campus that same spring.
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Pehm said the ordinance appeared to change the dynamic around the event.
"I think they're all scared of the police now, which is good, because I've seen somebody get shot last year," Pehm said.
Not everyone believes pub crawl should end entirely. Oshkosh resident Scott Leavitt said the event brings economic benefits to local businesses.
"I love it for what it does for the local businesses here in Oshkosh. It's such a great thing. Down here, downtown, I've heard of business owners getting an uptick of $2,000 to $3,000," Leavitt said.
Leavitt said this year's event was a departure from pub crawls of the past.
"Last night's pub crawl was pretty quiet, you know, there was no violence, there was no gun violence, there was no mass amounts of drugs like there has been in the past," Leavitt said.
I reached out to the Oshkosh Police Department for the official total of service calls, citations issued and arrests made during Saturday's pub crawl, but was told those numbers are still being compiled and will be available at a later date.
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