Droves of people from all backgrounds unite under one banner. Armies of men and women dressed in red and white fill the streets and make their way toward the sports equivalent of a cathedral. No, this isn’t 1984, nor is it a foreign invasion. This is “Game Day.” It can be fun to partake in pre-game activities, but innocent fun can quickly turn into a battle for oneself. Badger Saturday, for all it’s worth, is nothing more than a glorified perversion of the ritual that is game day.
Don’t consider me a hater or an individual going against tradition simply just because, because that would be highly inaccurate. I love the University of Wisconsin, and I absolutely adore game days. My claims should not be viewed as other or against the norm, but instead be viewed as a form of constructive criticism. The reality of the situation is that on any given Badger Saturday there is a destructive use of group think. Whether that manifests itself in forms of alcoholism, criminal offenses or city representation is insignificant. The result is still the same, the loss of the self.
Moving away from home can be hard; moving away from home to a place where you are simply just another number can be even harder. As a freshman it can be truly difficult to fit it. Juggling classes and clubs is hectic enough; add to that the desire to somehow fit in at a school of 29,000, and the task becomes monumental. The best time to socialize with your friends is normally the weekend, but ironically it is one of the worst times to do so too.
Game Day, unlike any other day of the weekend, carries with it a mysterious allure. It isn’t the anticipation for the game that captivates students; instead it’s the activities before and after, most importantly the drinking. Alcohol has a high capability to be abused, and an even higher one when peer pressure is present. Game days create an environment in which it is abnormal to do anything other than what the group is doing (the almost identical outfits don’t help either), and thus leads to potentially dangerous situations. Just last April during a men’s basketball game, police officers had to take ten students to detox over the course of the weekend, and one student even had a BAC of about .37, which is a potentially fatal amount. Peer pressure accounts for much of the drinking that takes place on Game Day and will only continue as long as the group mentality persists.
The level of crimes also increases on game days. On Sept. 20, a student lit a portable bathroom on fire and the flames quickly engulfed a nearby car. Criminal events like this aren’t just ordinary but expected. A search on the Univeristy of Wisconsin Police Department website shows an increase in the number of crimes on game days. You don’t even need to check online, just take a walk down State Street at night and you can feel the hostility in the air. Not only does it feel unsafe to walk around at night on a game day it also discourages citizens from entering areas with a lot of students. You walk around and are surrounded by tons of loud college students; screaming, intoxicated and disruptive.
The environment oozes with sleaze and a false sense of bravado (undoubtedly caused by the alcohol). These disruptions are not only uninviting, but also unfair to those who do not wish to partake in the game day festivities. The reality of the situation is that people are being disruptive because everyone else is doing so. People who choose not to engage in these reckless activities are forced to either be in this environment, or leave the area for the remainder of the day.
If one is constantly surrounded by this culture of Wisconsin game days, he or she is likely to be peer pressured into becoming one of them. You cannot avoid it. It is almost like a person has to conform to this tradition in order to have fun and fit in. Especially as a freshman, one is particularly susceptible to new experiences and just wants to find a niche. Game days are supposed to be celebrations of team pride but most importantly school pride. It is a shame that incidents like the ones listed above take the stage over our love for our school.
Daniel Roque ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in biology and political science.