The Dunedin Police have successfully cancelled the Running of the Beers charity event after threatening the organiser with prosecution if it went ahead.
As the name so eloquently suggests, Running of the Beers contestants signed up to run and drink beer simultaneously; an impressive feat that surely deserves congratulations more than condemnation. Participants work in teams of two, taking turns drinking through their twelve pack and holding the container with all their empties, which are later recycled. It’s never too late to do your bit for climate change.
The event was a success last year, with no injuries or rubbish, and even a rare nod of approval from the notorious militarised unit known as “Campus Watch” that sometimes follows young girls home.
This year’s event was estimated to involve around 300 people, which would raise around $3000 for the Mental Health Foundation.
Mr Joel MacManus, organiser, is notoriously hard to track down but spoke to Critic over Skype about his immense disappointment around the forced cancellation of the event: “I got a call on Friday from a constable who said if I didn’t cancel the event and stop promoting it on Facebook, that I could face prosecution and a fine of up to $10,000.” Mr MacManus found himself unable to stand up to such intimidation tactics as $10,000 is beyond his meagre salary as a trivial editor of a local student publication. He was, however, excited at receiving media attention about the cancellation since he’s a massive “attention whore,” according to his colleagues.
The cancellation of the event has left students reeling. Mr MacManus said he was “hoping it would become an ongoing student tradition, so it’s a real shame that the police shut it down like this and showed that they were unwilling to work with us to create a positive event”. It’s unclear why exactly the police shut it down considering the charitable nature of the event, but according to one student it’s a “real dick move”.