Similar headlines have been rolling out for almost two weeks now: Fans on State Street burning couches, injuries reported after Wildcats win, despicable actions by celebrating UK students, etc.

Outsiders look down on the partying because of the violent and promiscuous behavior that gets all of the publicity, but they fail to acknowledge the positive aspects.

Amidst all of the debauchery following UK’s basketball successes, students found unity.

Of course, the violent behavior is despicable. Why does someone turn from high-fiving strangers to throwing bottles at them?

I don’t think anyone wants to hurt their fellow celebrators, but drunken thrill-seeking prevails over proper judgement.

Perpetrators cannot think rationally in order to be proper moral agents like the cooler heads, who look on with scorn, connecting actions with consequences.

Moral agency is the ability for one to act rightly and wrongly, and it is a requirement for responsibility. We don’t blame and punish non-human animals for their actions because they do not have the capacity to deliberate and act rightly or wrongly.

Alcohol impairs judgment and moral agency, and students shouldn’t feel the need to drink to the point of fully impairing their judgment and committing violent acts. A person who drinks to that point is like an accomplice to a crime.

Despite all this, most celebrators seemed to have positive experiences.

“Everybody there was really nice to each other most of the time,” freshman Mark Noblin said. “It’s just a lot of people getting together to celebrate the game. On the surface it kind of seems like it’s madness, but it’s really just everybody hanging out and celebrating.”

While yelling and cheering like a bunch of thoughtless hooligans, we engaged in a memorable, inclusive event. I transferred to UK this semester and feared feeling like an alien in a big sea of blue.

Everyone seems to have their distinct, exclusive groups such as fraternities, sororities and close-knit friends. However, the celebrations we shared, and the angry rioting we shared Monday night, united us as a coherent student body.

Even when I lost my friends dodging the flames, projectiles and people in the crowd, I did not feel alone. Inclusive events like these are what shape a positive collective mindset for students. We are so often in our own worlds. Events like these bring us together.

I can’t be the only one who will remember that feeling and adopt a more inclusive mindset as a result.

If UK makes a run in the tournament next year, I’ll be the first to make sure my friends don’t drink too much before we go running to State Street to chant and cheer with our fellow students.

Students need the inclusivity that events such as this one offer.

[email protected]