Halloween on State Street was a big part of campus life even before I was a student here in the early 1980s. For the most part, it has been a peaceful celebration that reflects the energy and creativity of students. Madison wouldn't be the city it is if not for the 40,000 students on the UW campus. Students bring excitement, ideas and optimism to the city. Some of us like Madison so much that we find excuses to stick around after we graduate. That's what I did, and now I've got a great excuse to keep living in Madison. In fact, my job requires it.
It seems to me that most students develop a connection with the city very quickly. They don't want to do anything that would hurt it. In fact, when things got ugly at the end of last year's Halloween celebration, it was almost entirely outsiders doing the damage. The vast majority of UW students behaved responsibly, but unfortunately the whole student population gets a black eye when a few people get out of hand, even when those people aren't UW students.
So this year, I want to ask you to do a few things to help out the city we all love:
First, if you are going to drink, please drink in moderation. The biggest catalyst for all the problems we have had is excessive consumption of alcohol. Remember not to have open containers of alcohol of any kind on the street. The police will be enforcing the open container law, and the fine has gone up this year. If you get caught with an open container you will be subject to a $200 fine, and you will be taken off the street and processed.
Second, please don't bring glass containers of any kind to State Street or the surrounding area. The city has enacted a glass ban for this weekend for everybody's protection. Glass bottles and broken glass can be a pretty serious hazard, so please leave the glass at home. Again, there's a stiff $200 fine for anyone with a glass container of any kind in the State Street area.
Third, if your friends start to get a little too crazy in a violent way, ask them to chill out. Last year things went bad at the end in part because a hard, cold rain drove all the moderating influences off the street. What was left were the hardcore. I'm convinced the damage would not have happened if more level heads were on the street when the incidents occurred. You can control the event by setting the tone.
Fourth, when it's closing time, it's time to go home. The end of the event will be announced when the bright lights come on around 3 a.m. That signals the end of the party on State Street and means it is time to leave the street. I'm going home to bed. As for you, you might have other places to go. To each his own, but the point is that it's over on State Street when the fat lights go on.
Associated Students of Madison deserves a great deal of credit for its constructive approach to this Halloween. I asked them to help us change the tone of the event from a regional party to a more local, good-spirited celebration. They responded with creative ideas like free food, hayrides, trick-or-treating for little kids and a costume contest for big kids. They showed bad judgment only when they asked me to be a judge of the contest. But I'll do my best, folks.
Again, UW students have not been the cause of the bulk of our problems the last two years, but you do have the power to set the tone that will make the bad guys feel unwelcome. This is our city. Please help us make this Halloween fun and safe, so that 20 years from now you-one of whom might be mayor of Madison-can look back and say we got it right in 2004. Hey guys, be careful out there!
