The University of New Brunswick has decided to put a stop to the age-old student activity of the pub crawl.    

The university says it's about the health and safety of its students.

“Students are in a variety of licensed facilities and there isn’t consistent monitoring of their consumption,” says Shirley Cleave, associate vice-president academic. “You don’t have the same wait staff or bartenders aware of what students have been drinking."

Some pub crawls are used to raise money for a club or school trip, but the school says that doesn’t matter.

"A few years ago a number of universities had problems, significant issues with student deaths related with over consumption of alcohol, so university presidents across the country became concerned that their campus looked at how alcohol is managed on their campuses," says Cleave.

UNB acknowledges they're not the first ones to make the decision. The University of Prince Edward Island removed them six years ago and Dalhousie University did the same 15 years back.

Likely the first, administration there said they realized it was a huge liability. They also don't allow alcohol to be advertised on campus.

“I partook in pub tours and I empathized on why (students) might be upset that pub tours are gone. They're a great social event,” said Grayson Beairsto of the UNB student union.

St. Thomas University is also considering a ban.

"I kind of understand where UNB is coming from,” says second-year St. Thomas student Emily Williams. “Just as far as insurance, student safety, the travel involved."

Williams says even though she’s looking forward to becoming legal drinking age, she doesn't really mind the idea.

"I feel like in university it might be more awkward, and more pressure involved too because you don't know everyone that you're going with. So if you only want to drink a small amount, there might be more people there who would be like, ‘drink more, drink more,’" says Williams.

St. Thomas University will be making their decision in two weeks time. Administration says they're only aware of one planned pub crawl at this time.

UNB says they're not banning alcohol at events, just at locations where it is the main event.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.