OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The Oshkosh “Pub Crawl” is a biannual event that often brings arrests and other incidents, but students enjoy it as a way to destress from exams.
- The “Pub Crawl” involves several house parties near the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus.
- Students say it’s mostly people from out of town who cause issues.
- The event occurs each April and October.
The Oshkosh “Pub Crawl” is an unsanctioned event where students walk to several different house parties near the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus.
While the University does not sponsor the event, many UWO students attend the event.
“It’s just a really electric time,” Owen Ott, a UWO student and “Pub Crawl” attendee, says. “You are going around to different yard parties, and for older people, it’s also bar hopping on Main Street as well.”
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The event typically happens twice a year, once on the second Saturday in April and then again on the second Saturday in October.
“It’s a lot of people and a lot of drinking,” Maggie Woerishofer, a UWO student and “Pub Crawl” attendee, says.
Last Saturday, the Oshkosh Police Department says two people were arrested, including a 17-year-old with a loaded handgun, and an officer was injured in a crowd of people.
“When we do have the ‘Pub Crawl’ event, we do see an increase of pedestrian traffic and people in the area around the campus,” Officer Kate Mann with OPD says.
Last April, OPD responded to 100 calls, arrested five people, and wrote 48 citations.
“I feel like every year you hear about something bad happening at pub crawl,” Keaton Wieloch, a UWO student who skipped “Pub Crawl” this year, says. “That’s part of the reason I decided to just because every year, something always ends up happening.”
OPD says they work with UW Oshkosh Police to improve safety measures for the event.
“We’re going to be working with UW Oshkosh police to see what occurred last weekend to see how we can prepare for future events,” Mann says.
Some UWO students say it’s mostly students from other schools or people from out of town who cause issues.
“I’m not 100% sure, but I think it’s mostly people that come from other places,” Woerishofer says. “Anything that I’ve heard of it getting crazy it’s other people that come here.”
Despite the risks, some UWO students believe the event should continue.
“I think people have a lot of fun, there just needs to be something done with the guns,” Truly Kaulback, a UWO student and “Pub Crawl” attendee, says.
Kaulback and Woerishofer say most of the dangerous incidents happen at night, so they try to only spend time in the crawl during the day.
Ott says the event is a stress reliever for students.
“The students around here are just here to have a fun time and a time to take away some stress from you know, like midterms and exams, classes as well,” he says. “And we just want it to be a more safe and enjoyable experience overall.”
While “Pub Crawl” is not sponsored by the university, NBC 26 reached out to UWO for comment. University staff pointed to a press release from the UW Oshkosh Police Department, which said:
“The safety of our campus community is always our top priority. We thank the City of Oshkosh Police Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol for their strong collaboration, decisive and swift action, and thorough preparation, which ultimately kept our community safe during this challenging event.”
