Thursday, city council candidates from Districts 5 and 8 came together in Memorial Union at the only campus debate to discuss student issues. Jason Stephany and Robbie Webber, from District 5, and Jeff Erlanger and Austin King, from District 8, discussed issues including binge drinking and housing.
When asked what they would do to eliminate binge drinking, all responded that banning drink specials was not the answer. Erlanger said that the bans make people feel unwanted at bars and that house parties are not a safe alternative.
\I am all for more programs for people who don't drink downtown,"" he said.
He also said the city needs more places for people with drinking problems to turn.
King agreed that binge drinking causes problems within the city and said, ""We must work to decrease the harms from binge drinking-first and foremost is sexual assault.""
He suggested that the Alcohol License Review Committee loosen its restrictions for obtaining cabaret licenses, which are required to obtain dance floors. Having more alternative activities such as dancing would ""alleviate the pressures to go to house parties,"" King said.
Webber agreed with King that a closer look needs to be taken at the destructive behavior that goes along with drinking, and that the ALRC should loosen its cabaret license restrictions.
""This is not 'Footloose,'"" she said.
Stephany said, ""Binge drinking is a social issue that ordinances cannot prevent.""
In order to confront the problem, he said there should be a larger push to educate people on the negative effects of binge drinking. Stephany said that more informative campaigns targeted at incoming freshman are needed, especially during the SOAR program.
The candidates also debated how they would improve the quality, availability and affordability of student housing, which they all agreed is an important issue.
Webber said owners and landlords need to be held accountable.
""I have seen a lot of abuse to students on behalf of landlords. Students are vulnerable,"" she said.
Stephany went a step further by suggesting improvements such as creating a tenants' bill of rights that can be easily enforced and lowering students' cost of living by building more dorms.
Erlanger agreed that landlord abuse needs to be reduced and said ""There is a monopoly among landlords and we need to find a way to break that.""
""A lot of people want to be in one part of campus and we need to figure out how to get more housing there,"" he added.
King's suggestions for improvement were numerous and included eliminating discrimination against users of Section 8 housing vouchers and increasing the density of development in downtown Madison.
""Density makes cities great. Great cities are places where we are forced to look at our neighbors,"" he said.
King also said that he has already formulated a plan for security deposit reform, putting the care of security deposits in the hands of the city treasurer.
Roughly 20 people attended the debate. Afterward, UW-Madison junior Chris Beck said, ""I am not surprised at the lack of attendance. This is a demobilized campus politically.""
""There are definite differences between the candidates, and certainly a choice to make,"" he added.
