Clubs have more responsibilty for taking care of drunk students then they think.
Ryan Rocastle
Kicking a student out and leaving them to find their way home in their drunken state is irresponsible of a club yet it happens all the time.
Many students are 18 years old when they start university. That means that some of them could have only been drinking, legally, for a couple of months.
Cheap booze
When you go on a night out in Kingston you have promoters almost fighting to get you into their clubs with two-for-one flyers or jaeger bombs for £2. Clubs are persuading you to go to their venues and one of the ways they convince you is by offering cheap alcohol.
Clubs are not stupid. They know that most of the time people entering their venues have already consumed a considerable amount of alcohol as ‘pre drinking’ is the norm nowadays.
Clubs may argue that they have a door policy, checking that people are not too drunk, but honestly, only those who are almost paralytic are refused entry.
Students will drink too much
Once inside, many students are not thinking about their degrees or if they are going to make their 9am lecture in the morning.
Now and again, there may be times where these students cross the line, drink way too much alcohol that the club has provided and promoted, and are rightfully kicked out.
Some of the town’s most popular clubs like Amagi, Bacchus and McCluskies are all located right beside the Thames. Many first year students walk back to Seething Wells halls after a night out – a route which is right next to the river. I have done this before and have witnessed how dangerous it can be.
Something needs to be done
If a student is on their own then the club should make an effort to find one of their friends to accompany them. They can tell if they are a student by looking at their ID card. If this cannot be done, then I suggest that the clubs alert the police, who can then take them to the police station where they can sober up before going home.
This may involve a bit of a restructuring and cooperation between clubs and the police, but something needs to be done. The clubs may say they do their best but they need to do more or we will carry on seeing tragic deaths such as incidents like Jamie Smith and Niall Pawsey.