Many students were very upset when they heard the Mifflin Street block party was tentatively scheduled for May 7, the day before the start of finals week. Having to decide whether to skip the year's best party or study for an exam that could take place as early as the following morning is not appealing to students. Furthermore, Mifflin has historically been considered one last chance for students to go nuts before finals force them to settle down and they part ways as the spring semester ends.
The All-Campus Party committee and the Madison Police Department should have taken all that into account when planning for the party's date but they did not. It is now is up to the students who are most affected, those who live on Mifflin Street, to take responsibility and get the city in line with moving the party up a week to April 30.
The residents on the 400 and 500 blocks of West Mifflin should spearhead an effort to get the date changed. Through petitions and contact with the police, the Madison Common Council and the All-Campus Party Committee, Mifflin residents need to make their voices heard on this issue.
The Mifflin Street block party has been largely successful since the late '90s. Students, and Mifflin residents in particular, should be responsible for helping to get past this roadblock. Already, Ald. Mike Verveer, Dist. 4, who represents the area in which the block party takes place, has said it would make more sense if the party were moved up. Now it is up to potential party-goers themselves to lead the effort.
April 30 is 10 weeks away. That means there are 10 weeks to figure out the logistics behind moving the party to that date. It also means that, over the course of the next 10 weeks, students can have a major say in how and when the party happens.
