Students with hopes of securing the seats at UW-Madison hockey and football games were given a rude awakening Tuesday morning. UW-Madison police officers gave out citations to 24 students who had violated university regulations regarding camping.
According to UW-Madison graduate student Alan Paberzs, three UW-Madison police officers arrived outside the Kohl Center at 5:30 a.m. They split up and started scanning the lines for anyone violating university camping regulations. Those found to be in violation received a $181 fine, and lost their spot in line.
The fines came after several days of UW-Madison officers warning students they were in violation of UW-Madison policy.
\We've been warning [them] up to this point and the people in line have been told by the Athletic Department what the expectations and rules were for them to be there,"" said UW-Madison Police Lt. Eric Holen. ""However, they deviated from the expectations. They used blankets and sleeping bags for overnight use.""
University rules stipulate ""no person may picnic or camp on university lands, except in those areas specifically designated as picnic or camping ground ... for purposes of this subsection, camping shall include the pitching of tents or the overnight use of sleeping bags, blankets, makeshift shelters, motor homes, campers or camp trailers.""
All students who registered for the line received a list with these rules on them. Furthermore, according to Holen, there were signs posted in and around the lines with these regulations as well.
Despite these postings, the rules were still open for misinterpretation. Paberzs, a student who received a fine, did not realize that by possessing a blanket overnight he was in violation of the law.
""I had the blanket underneath me. I thought that since it wasn't covering me, I wouldn't be cited, but lo and behold, I was,"" Paberzs said. ""I wasn't deliberately breaking the rules. I knew the rules and didn't feel like I was breaking them.""
Other students felt the fines were excessive and unnecessary.
""It is our right to keep warm at night, and a $181 ticket is completely unnecessary,"" UW-Madison junior Alex Kranz said. ""If people are going to be sitting out in the cold, they need a blanket to stay warm.""
Holen said enforcement of the law was not limited to areas surrounding the Kohl Center, but that it applies to the entire campus. He added this measure was really a point of safety; the university does not want people camping out in an area that could be potentially dangerous or one without accessible sanitation facilities.
