Instead of forbidding people to drive to Madison on Halloween weekend, why not use the traditional draw-State Street-as a chance to put Madison on the map in a positive and fun way? Most people would agree with me when I say that telling people not to come to Madison would only create the need for more police officers on duty, a waste of money, and angry people traveling to Madison simply because they're not supposed to.
I think we should block off State Street and charge admission, possibly even charging an elevated price for those without UW-Madison identification or Wisconsin driver's licenses. Trying to control the situation through creative thinking-for example, allowing only plastic bottles to be sold at the bars-rather than forbidding the event in the first place would generate money for the city, and shed a positive light on downtown Madison's fun-loving holiday.
-Tiffany M. Bruhn
UW-Madison Alumnus
I wasn't on State Street over Halloween weekend, so I can't dispute anything Bob Probst said in his article Monday. I would like to say, though, that once a situation gets out of hand, police cannot let their guard down at all. Sometimes that may result in the police acting in a way that they ordinarily wouldn't-they might not let an apartment dweller across a barricade, for example. The person that wanted to get through may very well have lived there, but how would the police officer know that?
Don't get me wrong-I'm not trying to condone the actions of any officer. There's no question that State Street on a weekend evening is not a place for those looking for family entertainment, but bonfires and broken windows suggest things are out of hand. If a person's adrenaline is up, and that person is charged with restoring order, he or she is going to consider everyone a potential threat.
Partying, drinking and general fun are part of college, and life beyond college as well. Breaking windows and starting fires on city streets aren't. They are cause for concern for general safety.
-Peter Bianco
