This year the Students’ Union supported the decision, made by Rag, not to run the Roman Romp. Rag made this difficult decision for a number of reasons, primarily that the decrease in financial support from large graduate recruiters and the local licensed trade meant that the event was no longer a viable charity fundraiser, but also because an event such as this carries with it a significant number of health and safety issues.
With Rag running the event, a great deal of time, effort and expense was spent trying to ensure that the event was controlled and had the support of the relevant bodies, meaning that it could go ahead with minimal impact on the local community.
Any form of Roman Romp that goes ahead this year will not be organised by Rag, and therefore will have no marshals, no first aid available, no extra buses and no support from the local licensing authority or the local police. These events will therefore carry no support from the Students’ Union or the University.
The Students’ Union is aware that some students will feel passionate about the Roman Romp and will want to keep the tradition alive. However, an unsupported, un-marshalled, un-coordinated mass pub crawl is not without its risks both to individuals and to the reputation of the student community as a whole.