Every year on the Thursday of finals week, many Binghamton University students participate in the annual BU Bearcat Day and Bar Crawl celebrations. This year, the events fall on May 19.
While Bearcat Day is officially sponsored by the Student Association, Bar Crawl is not. The SA offers Bearcat Day as an alternative to drinking. The officially sanctioned Bearcat Day event will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Court Street, between State Street and Water Street, in Downtown Binghamton. Bearcat Day activities will include food vendors, a DJ, a mechanical bull and a picture booth.
Together, both Bearcat Day and Bar Crawl mark the end of the academic year for students and also serve as celebrations for seniors who will graduate during the weekend.
To make sure you have a fun and safe day, Release compiled a few rules you may want to follow.
Buy a mug
The Student Association is selling Bar Crawl 2011 mugs that change color when filled with cold drinks, in their office for $12 until May 19. According to Cory Jankow, president of the Senior Class Council, the mugs are meant to be a souvenir for graduating seniors.
“The mugs represent the four years at Binghamton,” Jankow said. “They also serve as a fundraiser for the senior gift, a vista deck that will overlook the Nature Preserve.”
Though the mug does not exist purely for Bar Crawl purposes, it still contains helpful Bar Crawl information, provided by David Husch of Off Campus College.
It lists the establishments participating in the event as well as some helpful information for students, including special offers occurring during Bar Crawl. The mugs can be used in the participating establishments, but must be emptied before leaving the bar. No person is allowed to have an open container with any alcoholic beverage on public land (any roadway, street, sidewalk, park, playground or parking area). Partiers who bring their drinks outside of the bars will be prosecuted for violating these laws (See Page 1).
Open container laws must be followed at all times during the event. According to OCC’s Bar Crawl Dictionary, a container is defined as any bottle, can, glass, mug, mug with a lid, cup, Nalgene or other receptacle used to hold liquid.
Pace yourself
The unofficial Bar Crawl activities begin earlier in the day, starting at Main Street near Callahan’s Sportsman Club on the corner of Beethoven Street and Main. From there, revelers that are of lawful drinking age will continue down Main Street, stopping at each bar that is open. For those who are unaware, the object of Bar Crawl is to have at least one drink at each bar you stop at as you “crawl” down Main Street. In the process, students visit bars they may not have had the opportunity to experience. Eventually you will wind up on State Street, where the most popular bars for students are located.
As you can imagine, this is a long day of imbibing alcohol. Drinking too much can result in sickness, injury or worse. And if that’s not enough to sway you, consider this: Do you really want to be the first one down at 2 p.m.? Didn’t think so.
Be respectful to non-participants
Though Bar Crawl hasn’t caused many issues in the past, an added concern this year is Broome Community College’s graduation ceremony, which will also be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on May 19. The graduation ceremony will be held in the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, which is down the street from the bars on State Street.
The BCC graduation ceremony may contribute to traffic problems before and after the ceremony, as the Collier Street Parking Ramp will be used by attendees of the graduation. State Street will also be closed to traffic to accommodate the graduation.
Students are reminded to be respectful of the BCC graduates and their friends and family.
Don’t cause a riot
Recent events at SUNY Albany have brought increased focus on mass drinking events, which may affect Bar Crawl. At their annual Kegs and Eggs celebration in March, SUNY Albany students rioted after a night of drinking to celebrate Albany’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The school and its student body were brought to national focus, fostering the debate over underage drinking as well as mass drinking events.
A note on the Bar Crawl mugs states to “drink responsibly, don’t drink and drive and place litter in receptacles.” Students should keep all three in mind if participating in Bar Crawl this Thursday.
— Alex Kornreich contributed to this report.