WSU ‘golfers’ stuck at 19th hole

Associated Press

PULLMAN — Washington State University is trying to shake its image as a party school. But some students are reluctant to let go of their drinking traditions.

Nearly 2,000 people gathered in the College Hill neighborhood last Saturday for the annual midday drinking fest known as Senior Golf.

The event stopped traffic, closed streets, distressed neighbors and resulted in the police taking five participants to the emergency room for alcohol detoxification.

"Golfers" paid $15 for a wristband that bought them a different drink at eight "holes," locations that were actually seven private homes and a bar in the neighborhood.

There’s no golfing involved, just drinking and socializing from place to place.

"It’s not a sanctioned university event," WSU spokesman Joe Barnes said. "I saw students behaving themselves very well."

Police estimate as many as 2,000 people participated, but Barnes said he saw no more than 500.

This weekend is the anniversary of the 1998 College Hill party that got out of control and pitted students against police officers in a riot.

Traditionally, the last two weekends of school have required extra patrols from the police.

Senior Golf, which takes place two weeks before finals, has been going on for about a decade and has grown.

"It used to be just a senior event," Pullman police operations commander Mike Karlin said. Officers said they were surprised by the number of participants. Last year, only about 800 "golfed."

Though public intoxication, drinking from open containers, public urination, blocking streets, trespassing and property damage are all illegal, the officers overlooked those offenses and spent their time on crowd control.

"You don’t focus on" minors in possession of alcohol, said Sgt. Crew Halleck. "You focus on ‘How do I prevent tens of thousands of dollars of property damage?’ "

Dan Antoni, owner of DRA Rentals, said that when he heard that a few of the houses he managed were on the list of "holes" for the event, he did everything he could to prevent it.

"We hand-delivered notices that those parties were not going to occur in the properties that we manage," he said. "It’s a violation of the lease."

Residents of seven houses on the hill allowed Senior Golf to take place. The eighth hole was "The Coug," a tavern just off campus near Greek Row.

Antoni said the city of Pullman, the police department, the university and the Washington State Liquor Control Board all knew students were organizing a Senior Golf day this year, but did little to address the problems of public intoxication and property damage.

"The crowd was mellow," said Glenn Johnson, a Pullman police spokesman who watched the event on Saturday. "I observed no fights. But one fellow was so drunk that he fell and broke his nose. He didn’t have the sense to put out his hands."

As the event wound down by midafternoon, Johnson and a few WSU administrators helped students pick up beer cans and debris. The next day, fraternity and sorority members went out to erase all traces of the mass party.

"It’s weird," Halleck said. "There’s wanton irresponsibility on one day, and then the next day, they go out and clean it up."

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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