I met the man behind Drinking Ticket, the USC Twitter with 52K followers
‘People who don’t have twitter know what it is’
Drinking Ticket, a popular Twitter handle amongst USC students, has grown by tens of thousands of viewers over its five year history. Many students create Twitter accounts solely to follow this notorious account handled by an elusive user.
Drinking Ticket tweets out useful information in regards to police, DUI check points, and other need-to-know information for USC students. While it started solely as a means of communicating high-alert problems to the student body, it has evolved into an integral part of Gamecock life.
I had the pleasure of interviewing the man behind the magic, and found out some interesting information along the way.
How it all began
Drinking Ticket began when its creator was a sophomore at USC, we shall refer to him at ‘DT.’ DT saw there was a void in the way news was being relayed to students.
The Daily Gamecock and Carolina Alerts are notoriously awful at notifying students on campus of news. This is due to the administration, political correctness, and a lack of resources to investigate tips.
DT told me that this resulted in “a whole demographic of the city that was falling through the cracks.
“As a student, I asked myself what did I want to know?”
Drinking Ticket got a kick start from Greek Life, which sent out emails to their members to follow DT on Twitter and helped to popularize the account. Local news stations and news papers began to talk about this platform and this idea of delivering news through a third party source – it was virtually unheard of.
Soon Drinking Ticket branched into topics beyond that of late night muggings and 5 points information. The feedback from this was overwhelmingly positive, at which point DT began to draft up expansion plans.
“Something I pride myself on is that we are the first – we break news before anyone else. We’ve broken every major story involving the University in the past five years. A lot of news sources now hit up drinking ticket to get their information.”
The account began humbly, with just DT and his friend Michael. It then grew into a larger group of individuals. Now, five years later, DT founder is down to just himself, a legal team, and 52K followers on Twitter. He likes to fancy himself an investigative journalist, as a large portion of what he does on Drinking Ticket is investigate certain tips before sending out tweets.
Whether a silly tip regarding John Stamos walking around Columbia, or something as serious as an active shooter on campus, DT is thorough in checking out his tips as to not send out false information.
The man behind the magic
I must confess, my initial curiosity in Drinking Ticket stemmed from the elusive power this account holds at USC. DT is the local celebrity, the unassuming super hero of Columbia. But Drinking Ticket is not his full time job. His full time job is at a litigation firm.
DT also confessed he will bartend “ 2-3 times a week at 5 points. He loves to send out tweets when he is there, because he gets to watch all these students check their phones while he can observe with a smirk.
“I’ve been bartending for four years at Sharkies, Red Hot, Saloon, and Horseshoe.”
Right now, he still bartends at Cover 3, his favorite bar.
Carolina Alerts
Many students complain about the delay and lack of information provided by Carolina Alerts.
“What are Carolina Alerts?” Carolina Alerts are a system put in place by the university to provide information to
students in regards to “safety issues, active shooters, and other hazardous events” as stated on the Carolina Alerts website.
Their website provides a list of safety tips, emergency contacts, and the emergency team at USC and Columbia. The question remains: why are Carolina Alerts so much less efficient and effective than this third party social media account?
Likely
“The biggest issue is the political correctness behind it. When we find out information I work quickly to validate ad verify it to the best of my ability and send it out. I am friends with the USC administration. It is one of those issues where there is an official press release and what it ends up coming down to is that the news is not relevant anymore.
“A Carolina Alert a day after someone is robbed doesn’t really help you. It doesn’t let you know that there is an issue to look out for. What is great about Drinking Ticket is once a student or someone close to the school will send a tweet or direct message on Twitter and say something is going on on campus, then I know specifically what to look for.
“Someone tips me in the right direction then I go searching.”
How it has developed
I asked DT if he feels University of South Carolina relies on him as its news source and its connection to students. He responded, “Absolutely! You can walk into a room and at least half of the room knows of Drinking Ticket and more than half follow it.
“People who don’t have Twitter know what it is. Countless students have told me that they literally made a Twitter to follow Drinking Ticket. Students rely on it.”
DT focuses on what 18-25 year olds want and need to know about, as opposed to news channels that just do whatever because that is not what the kids care about.
“Whenever something happens and I don’t tweet about it, I have people ask why DT didn’t say anything. Its kind of funny how its gotten to the point people expect something to go out. If official sources say something but not Drinking Ticket, people comment.”
DT also joked that Drinking Ticket has gained such notoriety over the years that if DT tweeted a false report like classes are canceled, then almost the entire student body would not go to school. That is the reputation and following DT has built over the years, one of trust and credibility.”
The future
DT has matured a lot since it began five years ago and expansion plans are in the works. With his team of lawyers and investors, DT has a vision of bringing Drinking Ticket to every campus across the United States.
He creating a Drinking Ticket app, which will have more functions and connection to the students than Twitter allows. New features such as notification and direct tips and messaging are to be expected. DT elaborates that while Twitter was essential to the success of Drinking Ticket, it can be unreliable and limiting.
“Many times, tweets and messages are lost in the chaos of Twitter. A stand alone platform is needed to expand us.”
Of course, USC will be the first campus to try out this app.
One parting piece of advice DT left was on student safety, revealing that 5 points is never the hot spot for muggings or suspicious activity. The culprit is the outlying neighborhoods; these are the areas where crimes are repeated each year by students who believe they are safe to walk home.
“Call an Uber, it is not worth it.” A girl walking home at night is not safe if she brings a friend. The result is only another victim.
“Don’t be afraid when you are confronted with authority, they prey on fear. You do have a right to not speak,
you have a right to an attorney and to regroup and discuss something at a later time. You don’t have to do something on the spot, even if an authority tells you to.
“You do not have to blow at DUI checkpoints. Spend the night in jail and hire a lawyer.” It is a far preferred choice to having a DUI.” DT wants you to stay safe while enjoying the best years of youth.
As for the name of this mystery man? Sorry to say I cannot deliver. Sometimes life is best left with a dash of mystery.
Stay safe USC!