The O’Gara Shamrock Shuttle is the newest shuttle to drive students from the arches to the bars, and while many St. Thomas students welcome it, some are concerned.
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill began running a Saturday bus that travels to and from the arches two weeks ago, adding more competition for St. Thomas favorites Tiffany’s Sports Lounge and Plums Bar. However, Mike Barrett, associate director of Public Safety, said that bar shuttles introduce problems to the surrounding communities.
“A pretty good percentage of those patrons on the bus are not affiliated with the institution,” Barrett said. “They don’t know how to act or the culture here.”
Tiff’s, a sports bar on Ford Parkway, has run a Thursday shuttle from the arches for years.
Barrett said that Tiff’s began the shuttle to fix parking concerns and neighborhood relations. However, once its shuttle began running to St. Thomas, those same problems affected the campus’ surrounding community.
“They’ve done a great job of cleaning up the things… noisy patrons and whatnot,” Barrett said. “What Tiff’s has cleaned up on Ford Parkway, is now what we are trying to clean up here.”
Students like senior Chad Schneider said that O’Gara’s shuttle is a smart, safe way to get students to and from the bar.
“I think they’re just trying to be similar to Tiff’s because they know students take advantage of it,” Schneider said. “It gives students the safety of a sober cab ride. They can just take it for free, and everyone can go out and have a good time.”
Barrett said he agrees that taking the shuttles is a responsible choice.
“I focus on those choosing socially responsible means of having a good time,” Barrett said. “As long as they do that, it’s just another bus driving through the neighborhood.”
Senior Cassandra Meffert said that both Tiff’s and O’Gara’s shuttles are “convenient” travel options for students, and O’Gara’s new shuttle is thinning out crowds at other bars.
“I like it because other places like Tiff’s and Plums are too congested,” Meffert said. “It’s fun to go somewhere and not be shoulder to shoulder with everyone there.”
O’Gara’s recently renovated its old music garage into The Shanty. The improvements have caught some students’ attention, and it is quickly growing in popularity.
Junior Isaac Bergstrom said that he was impressed by the upgrades.
“It’s got a nice big bar, a good dance floor and plenty of room so it doesn’t get too crowded,” Bergstrom said. “But there’s still a lot of people there.”
Aside from bar shuttles, Barrett said that Public Safety is focusing on working to decrease alcohol-discipline cases.
“The more it becomes a problem, the more we will be there alongside our public partners, the St. Paul Police Department, focusing on solving the issues,” Barrett said.
Public Safety’s efforts are showing. According to its records, there were 346 alcohol-related cases in 2010, which is 105 less than in 2009.
Barrett said that Public Safety’s main concern is the health and safety of the students.
“When they are over-served, underage or possess fake I.D.’s, that’s when it becomes an issue,” Barrett said. “When they’re at the arches vomiting in a flower pot, we see that as a health and safety issue so we intervene.”
Olivia Cronin can be reached at cron2722@stthomas.edu.
Would have been interesting to see some actual numbers on how many people riding these shuttles are St. Thomas students and whether they walk or drive and park around campus to get to the bus, since that seems to be PS’s main concerns.
I always hate being the stick in the mud and not letting people have their fun. But the thing is that this is actually hurting the image of the University. I live off campus right now, but spend a lot of time on campus. If you leave campus late at night you can hear the sounds coming from people who have had to much to drink. It is actually a little disheartening that people will go crazy like this. The shuttle is a good thing, I am not saying that it Is, but There needs to be better regulations for these students coming home. In my opinion they create a disturbance on campus and for the surrounding neighborhoods due to their noise on campus and how they act after they are back on campus.
This is just my opinion, but I am actually worried that these shuttles are allowed to come to St. Thomas in the first place.
First, I have to believe that a large majority of the individuals using these shuttles either go to UST or are friends of somebody who does. Additionally, I seriously doubt that the 1:15am-2:15am group returning to campus has any significant impact on the image of the University. I would have to imagine, David, that you are one of the few people roaming campus near the arches at 2am who is seriously distraught by the “sounds coming from people who have had too much to drink.” As I do not see St. Thomas disallowing these shuttles, due to the safe travel they provide for a large number of their students, I would suggest simply putting your earmuffs on for that one hour period two nights a week.
Ben, I am just commenting that their behavior after they get back is a little too rowdy. I was walking up on the upper quad and thought there was a football game going on, once I saw the shuttle at the Arches it made sense.
I agree that it is a good service, but I feel that there just needs to be tighter regulations for when they get back to St. Thomas. They represent the University when the get back. Their attitudes and state of mind after drinking is not one that puts St. Thomas is a good light
David…I remember my first beer!
The fact is that a majority of those bus-riders are grossly underage, in possesion of fake I.D.’s, and are part of the largest on-campus population, which means they are freshmen and sophomores… and many of them come back to the dorms/on-campus housing and can be quite disruptive to their peers who choose healthier habits and/or lifestyles.
Landon, I cannot comment on the “fact” you presented. However, it does not seem that your issue would be resolved by disallowing these shuttles to run from campus. One way or another (whether it be by bus, taxi, or foot), the on-campus student population that decides to go out will be returning to their rooms late at night. Not to be malicious, but for individuals who want to avoid alcohol entirely, there are several other respectable schools in Minnesota that are well-known for their intolerance for alcohol consumption. St. Thomas, after all, is a wet campus; and where there is alcohol, rowdy and disruptive behavior will follow.
Ben, think about this though. I agree with the points that Landon has stated. I know and understand that St. Thomas is a wet campus. The thing is though, and here is the kicker, most of the students that use the shuttles, are the ones who live on campus. Now I know that public safety has rules about coming back to campus drunk and to the point where you are a hazard to everyone on campus. Also what Landon has stated about most kids being underage, is the truth. This then gives the university a bad standing. I agree that fun is great, but not to the point where rowdy and disruptive behavior should be allowed. If you go lax on the ruling of alcohol consumption, and these shuttles definately allow more students to consume alcohol, then you start to put the students lives at risk. I just feel, and I am sort of guessing that Landon agrees (sorry if you don’t and I apologize for lumping you in), that Public safety needs to monitor when these shuttles get back, and check to see if the students are safe and not causing any havoc. The thing that you might forget, is that we are in a neighborhood here, we are in a city. The neighborhood around St. Thomas both love and hate us. They love the University because of the income it brings to the neighborhood. They hate us for noise and…
behavior and noise issues. If you look around the Tommie Media website you will see letters sent in to them hoping that students will change their habits. Also do note that we are a Catholic Institution.
David, here is where I am going to step in. You state that “most of the students that use the shuttles, are the ones who live on campus.” I would disagree with that statement. I’m going to go ahead and take a wild guess, based off of your earlier comments, that you have never riden either shuttle bus. The 6 block area surrounding St. Thomas is thick with St. Thomas students who utilize the service. Just because the bus picks up at the arches, doesn’t mean the students who use the service live on campus. “Most kids being underage”… again I’d like to have you cite your source for this. Sure, a percentage of the students may be underage, but certainly not most. You’re really beating a dead horse here because at the end of the day, the service is one that does more good than bad. You’re going to have a noise issue either way. Like Ben mentioned, if I’m not getting off the shuttle- I’m getting cabs, walking or arranging rides. Finally, I’d like to question whether concerns are actually being raised, or if TM is looking for an article topic.
I don’t agree that going “lax” on alcohol consumption would necessarily put students’ lives at risk. More tolerance of alcohol consumption on campus might lead to more responsible drinking. If student’s knew they could moderately drink in dorms or at campus events, they might not have to go off campus in search of house parties or try to sneak into bars. Neighbors might complain less of students wandering the streets late at night.
Obviously, none of this makes excessive consumption OK. Public Safety would still have every right and reason to intervene when kids get out of control. But I think a little tolerance could go a long way.
Also, not sure what being a Catholic institution has to do with having shuttles on campus…
My two points:
1) For those who do not understand the logistics behind these shuttles, St. Thomas does not pay for or ask (to my knowledge) for the shuttle. The private company (O’Gara’s or Tiffs) supplies a private shuttle for those wishing to go to and return from the bar in a safe (safer) manner. These shuttles do not come on St. Thomas property at any point, as they stay on Summit Ave (a public street). St. Thomas does not (nor can they) control the actions of that private company on public property.
2) For those who think this shuttle encourages bad behavior from UST students (David), I would only point you to the endless amount of empirical data showing “disruptive behavior” and “excessive drinking” of UST students long before the shuttle service was provided by these bars. Ask the neighborhood liaison about it. I do not care what you think… In a city with lackluster (at best) public transportation and few taxis available around 1:30-2:30am, providing students with a safe and free way to keep their cars parked while drinking (whether the student consumes 1 beer or 15 beers) is a good thing.