What happens at Carnage student parties, why are they banned by some UK unis and do you need to wear a t-shirt?
The massive event takes place at universities across the country with boozed up students often pictured in their iconic £10 t-shirts wreaking havoc
EVERY year, thousands of students take to the streets for one of UK's biggest student nights.
Carnage UK takes place at universities across the country with boozed up students often pictured in their £10 t-shirts wreaking havoc.
What is Carnage UK?
Billed as the UK's "Number 1 Student Event", Carnage UK involves around 350,000 people going on a huge pub crawl around their university town.
Carnage advertises itself as the “student party of all student parties”.
The Carnage UK events are run by Varsity Leisure Group, a multi-million-pound business that puts on hundreds of pub crawls throughout Britain.
But organisers have been slammed in the past for encouraging binge drinking and anti-social behaviour.
Carnage - which has been running since 2007 - allows students to buy drinks for as little as £1.
The founder of Varsity Leisure Group, Inderpaul Sandeep Singh Bahia has denied that the company encourages binge drinking in the past.
He said in 2008, “Our events are heavily focused on group identity, social and ethical cohesion, and fancy dress themes.”
What do the student parties involve?
Thousands of students pay £10 each year for a Carnage t-shirt that gets them free entry to around pubs, bars and nightclubs in their university town.
Many of the venues offer drinks promotions and it usually involves around 45 towns and cities in the UK each year.
The pub crawl is often fancy dress, with past themes including Animal Instinct - Unleash Your Beast, and Superheroes vs Supervillains.
Sozzled youngsters are regularly pictured lying on the streets vomiting or shoving late-night kebabs in their faces.
Carnage says on its website: "It is more than an event or just another night out. This is student tradition.
"One night, 1000’s of students, the best bars, the best clubs, throw in an incredibly entertaining fancy dress theme and the iconic Carnage UK event t-shirt……
"Get ready, you have just arrived at Carnage UK, the student party of all student parties. With a host of the best bars and clubs selected for a Carnage UK event, you are set to have one amazing evening of fun and entertainment, famously dubbed as 'probably the best night of your life' and 'This is the one night you simply cannot afford to miss out on'."
Why have some universities banned Carnage?
The controversial night out has been blasted by police and councils for encouraging binge drinking.
Authorities say the boozy event puts a strain on already stretched police resources.
The National Union of Students has launched a campaign to stop the organisation hosting more events.
At that point, at least 17 student unions had barred Carnage and its advertising from their premises, with a number threatening to withdraw their endorsement from any bar that takes part.
It is not clear how many universities have now banned the event.
What else has happened at Carnage UK?
Straight A biology student Gethin Bevan, 20, was found hanging from a tree in 2008 at the University of Bath following a Carnage night out.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Bevan, described by his friends and family as "always smiling";, had twice the alcohol limit for driving in his system.
The NUS ban was launched in 2009 after Sheffield Hallam University student Philip Laing was pictured urinating on a war memorial during one of the pub crawls.
He pleaded guilty to outraging public decency and the judge in the case said that he felt the student's actions were directly caused by his heavy consumption of alcohol.
Do you need to wear a t-shirt at Carnage?
The £10 white and orange t-shirts serve as a ticket to different bars and drink deals so they have to be worn.
They can either be bought from a university rep or via the using a collection document.
