The date of the Mifflin Street Block Party is still in contention as the Madison Police schedule a meeting open to all students who want to attend.
The meeting will be held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Madison Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin St.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, emphasizes the importance of this meeting saying that a dialogue between the students and the police will provide each side with important information needed in order to make the annual event safe and fun.
\The meeting will give the cops a good feel for how many people will show up on May 7,"" said Verveer. ""If a lot of student won't show then [Madison Police] might not need as many cops.""
Likewise, Verveer stressed the significance of students hearing what the rationale for keeping the party the planned date. If the students do turn out for the party on the unscheduled date of April 30 then Verveer fears the police may not be as lenient on enforcing city ordinances as they have been in the past.
Regardless of the date, the meeting is crucial to helping police keep ""a pulse"" on the student body in order to help them react to any unforeseen events Verveer adds.
UW-Madison student John Martin, resident of 534 Mifflin St., is content on changing the date to April 30, which would place Mifflin Street Block Party with a more convenient day for students.
""I agree with the students because we have exams coming up, and not a lot of people would like to go out and have a good time. It's kind of a bigger party for everyone to enjoy,"" said Martin. ""The better the turn out the better the block party is.""
UW-Madison junior Caitlin Fitzpatrick of 532 Mifflin St. is one of those students who, should the date of the event remain as planned, will have a final the next morning.
""I definitely would like it changed. I have an exam on the eighth at 7:45 a.m. so I'm a big advocate of getting it changed,"" she said.
""I also know that the school schedule comes out way [before] any of these other events are planned because it is planned three years in advance and they should know we always do it the week before final exams,"" Fitzpatrick said. ""I feel [the police] probably should have been aware of that.""
However, both students agreed that it is inconvenient to students if the date of the gathering remains May 7.
