Speaker systems, security lights, college costume contests and appearances from national or local bands are some of the many things being discussed by the city's Halloween planning committee in an effort to prevent a repeat of the 2002 and 2003 riots during the popular Madison party.
Believing the root of the festivities' problems lies in the excessive binge drinking, the city of Madison is creating organized events that will take place on Halloween in an attempt to deemphasize the role of alcohol.
\We need to come up with a way that this thing can be done in a safe way so that people can still manage to come down State Street and have a good time, but at the same time, not jeopardize the safety of the community,"" Captain of Police Luis Yudice said.
Although the committee has campus representatives, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said UW-Madison will not allow Halloween-related activities to occur on university property.
""We have been working with the community Halloween planning group to try and look at this with a city-wide perspective and try to introduce new measures to make the event safer,"" Yudice said.
Associated Students of Madison has proposed a plan that includes live music on Library Mall that will run late into the night. Dan Hudson of Madtown Events is pushing for a national act, one that would perform away from State Street at the Alliant Energy Center.
However, UW officials, the Madison Police Department and the mayor's office are opposed to any type of live music.
Also in planning is a speaker system with television sets that run the entire length of State Street. A system like this would make it much easier for officials to give announcements to the inevitable mob of people that are sure to descend upon the city.
Matt Rink, ASM chair, represents the student body on the planning committee. Rink stressed the importance of involving the whole city in this year's Halloween.
""We're going to bring the community into the festivities with little kids trick or treating by State Street,"" Rink said.
Rink also mentioned of an extensive security light system that could be used on State Street to disband rioters.
Hudson mentioned other events that are in the planning stages including a children's music show, and an ""upscale college costume contest, with a thousand dollar prize.""
This summer, the Madison Police Department released an after action report stating there were things it could have done differently to change the outcome of last year's Halloween fiasco.
""If they had been able to react quicker, they could have possibly prevented some of the vandalism and rioting,"" Verveer said, adding the police have also admitted this.
