Due to last year's State Street Halloween riots, the Madison Police Department, in cooperation with the City of Madison, State Street business owners and UW-Madison officials has been busily preparing for this year's festivities.
A meeting last night at Memorial Union featured spokespersons from each of these groups, along with special appearances by UW-Madison football captains Lee Evans and Jeff Mack. The meeting was held to inform the community about changes in policy and procedure, and to emphasize the need for cooperation with the police, as 70,000 to 100,000 people are expected.
\A lot of people from other places come here for this event,"" Evans said. ""Have fun with it, but have fun the right way. Be respectful of yourself, watch over your friends, and be respectful of other people's property.""
This weekend's Halloween events have been in the planning since early spring, with costs roughly estimated at $74,000.
""We've been granted an organized party for the first time since the 1980s,"" said City Council President Mike Verveer, District 4.
The party will have bands playing from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Nov. 1 on Library Mall. Though Verveer said Madison takes great pride in the Halloween traditions on State Street, he cautioned all those attending.
""The city could have gone the other way,"" Verveer said. ""They could have made the decision, like other communities around the United States have, when following a large public disturbance, to try and shut down a party. We made the decision early on in our community planning group to embrace this inevitable Madison tradition.""
Police anticipate an excellent outcome for this year's events. Capt. Luis Yudice of the Madison Police Department explained the ""total police package"" would be out beginning Friday night to control the events. More than 100 uniformed officers will be patrolling the State Street area.
According to Lt. Mary Schauf, the use of any glass bottles will be strictly prohibited. All glass items will be confiscated or citations will be written. Aggressive, violent behavior will not be tolerated, along with the possession of fake or real weapons, or nudity of any kind. The minimum fine for possession of an open intoxicant, which violates State Street ordinance, is $102.
""Please cooperate, we want this year's events to be fun, and we don't want any unnecessary escalation,"" Schauf said.
