Driven by past tragedies and a determination to enact change, students from Western Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse launched Operation: River Watch in 2006, a grassroots initiative to save lives by combating river-related accidents and drunken drownings.
Students saw the project as an immediate way they could contribute by volunteering their time. Under Operation: River Watch, volunteers from both colleges team up to patrol Riverside Park after dark to remind patrons the park is closed and help intoxicated individuals who might be lost. It’s an effort widely considered La Crosse’s most effective safety net, especially during the city’s Oktoberfest celebration.
Tessa Thurin is this year’s student body president at Western Technical College, where one of her roles is coordinating volunteers for the river watch. She works alongside the UW-L coordinator to bring the mission to life.
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What does patrolling look like during Oktoberfest, and how do you prepare for it?
Historically during Oktoberfest weekend, our community sees a large uptick in both intoxications and out-of-town guests. Both create a unique challenge requiring extra support to protect our community. Western Technical College partners with the UW-L and the police department to patrol the busy nights during Oktoberfest weekend. Western takes one night, and UW-L staffs it the other night. Volunteer hours are extended on Oktoberfest weekend to adapt to the ongoing festivities in the area. In addition to patrolling the park, volunteers assist at the Third Street Aid Station, which helps patrons find safe rides home, provides medical care and handles reports of lost items.
What challenges do you face while patrolling?
Operation: River Watch’s main mission is to keep the community safe from river tragedies by redirecting individuals visiting the park after hours, so it is expected that some challenges arise when working with the public.
Most of the time, people are unaware that the park is closed and simply leave after being informed. Other times, individuals have wandered down to the park after a night of drinking and become disoriented about where they are, leading to possible risky behavior near the water.
In the past, there have been incidents of intoxicated individuals wanting to fight with the volunteers after being told they needed to vacate the park. Operation: River Watch holds a positive relationship with the city’s Police Department to receive help with any situation that goes out of the volunteer’s scope of practice.
Can you share an example of a time when Operation: River Watch made a real difference in someone’s safety?
The student life and integrity manager, Ge Vang, shared a story of what he recalled as a time this project kept someone safe from the dangers that go hand-in-hand with overindulgence near the river. A student from Western had made his way to the park after being split up from his downtown group. He was running through the park, extremely intoxicated and very lost. Volunteers were able to get his address off his ID in his wallet, call him a cab, and wait with him until the cab arrived. Without this assistance, this intoxicated student may have continued to make poor decisions that could have led to a river-related tragedy.
Good Works is a feature provided by the La Crosse Community Foundation highlighting the work of area nonprofits that give back to the community.