Interview with Stuart Green from the Cabbage Patch

Interview with Stuart Green manger of the cabbage patch and ex student of St Mary’s

Dan: Right, as an ex student of St Mary’s do you think students are drinking more now than they did when you were there?
Stu: (pause) No
Dan: No
Stu: Absolutely not. I don’t think they are drinking any more, I think the problem is ... it’s it’s it’s erm much more widely reported and erm documented about how much people drink now. (Ok)That isn’t just students thats everyone. (Yer) The industry it’s self is is much more heavily regulated than it’s ever been. Company called the Portman group have gone down all companies now has to adhere to to erm certain regulations where they must, any drink promotion (Ok) have to be met with certain criteria (Ok) and have to be met with responsible drinking messages. You can’t actively advertise shots any more particularly or you have to do it in a very different way other than encouraging people to just get drunk on shots. (Ok) So I don’t think they are drinking less or drinking more I just think people are more aware of what they’re drinking.
Dan: Fair enough er when you were at university did you have to do any initiations when you were at when you were in a small group or did you see any initiation? Yer?
Stu: Yes I did yer.
Dan: Yer?
Stu: Yer absolutely erm.
Dan: Was it savage, harsh?
Stu: Erm I did the football initiations. (Ok) They were fairly savage but only for the first week or two and then it calms down. The novelty (Yer) wears off erm.
Dan: But I mean with this year I mean the AU president has actually talked to the presidents of each er (Yer) society and said look you need to calm it down and if you don’t start calming it down people will definitely will die from it and that will be the cause.
Stu: Is he not calming it down because is he not bound to the erm national union of the students who are request that due to the erm the footage obtained by the BBC?
Dan: Maybe
Stu: Which kicked off this whole campaign
Dan: Yer, yer erm maybe but I mean
Stu: Would he have do it if if it hadn’t been pushed into the spotlight?
Dan: That was.
Stu: I don’t know, I would suspect, I would assume not. Because it seems to me that that again one piece of information has come to life erm an initiations and I viewed that footage shown that the BBC obtained if you didn’t know what was going on yes it did look a little harrowing but it was a tongue and cheeky operation that erm that I don’t think the organisers which assume themselves went out to do any harm.
Dan: No I mean they never do.
Stu: Alcohol consumption as as a product is just that that statistically from what the information I’ve received there isn’t any more and more youngsters seemed to be drinking but these youngsters are under age. People who are drinking erm in the sort of the 18 to 24 bracket seem seems to be up but no one’s seems to mention the fact that actually the statistics that they’ve obtained have a lot more younger people erm in them now than they ever used to. (Ok, ok) Erm so therefore are there are there actually more kids drinking there probably not. I I don’t think they are I don’t think it doesn’t seem to be. It’s more what seems to have happened is the kid it’s become harder and harder for youngsters under 18 to buy drinks and then the people who are legal seems to erm drink drink in excess a lot more erm drinking culture itself seems to have been erm suppressed to weekends now as a pose to all day all week drinking. People now haven’t got the disposals income that they used have so they save up and then they go on a bender. (Ok) which is I’m not condemning that I’m I’m not condoning that sorry Im not saying that it necessary a good thing because it is dangerous I just it is a lot more noticeable now and now the licensing laws have been pass to councils as a pose to erm involving local residents as a pose to magistrates erm it the information available to residents is a lot more and so I think it just a cultural thing and booze is to blame and it is to blame for some of it but not all of it.
Dan: Not all of it.