Riot gear and pepper spray have defined Madison's annual Halloween party for the last three years, staining the image of Madison and the university. In our view, there are two major problems that must be dealt with if the city is to enjoy a safe and uneventful weekend this year. The influx of people from closing bars creates a chaotic, congested State Street and, second, most rioters are intoxicated outsiders with no stake in the Madison community.
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz told The Daily Cardinal he believes that steps additional to previous years must be taken this year. However, the Mayor's plan, being announced today, will not completely deter intoxicated State Street revelers from violent behavior.
In addition to a glass bottle ban and stadium-style lights, the city will discourage riots by encouraging the use of back door exits from 12 State Street bars, allowing patrons to egress away from the party. While certainly a worthwhile experiment, this will not be enough to prevent chaos.
If a simple solution to controlling the congestion is available, it is certainly not the proposed use of flexible plastic fencing, the type used on ski slopes, at key intersections with State Street. Indeed, cross traffic causes problems, but fences that keep people off State Street also hinder them from leaving. We fear that these fences will make the congestion problem worse, not better.
Beyond fences and back doors is the much more contentious proposal to close bars 30 minutes earlier than usual Sunday morning. Daylight savings time has not been kind to Halloween planners this year, who have come to this solution in order to prevent bars from staying open the extra hour. Shutting down bars 30 minutes early will result in even greater congestion during the time in which riots have previously occurred because State Street traffic is heavier at 2 a.m. versus 2:30 a.m.
Instead, we believe downtown bars should be allowed to serve alcohol until 3:30 a.m. and stay open until 5 a.m., serving non-alcoholic drinks, food and, most importantly, creating a place for people to go instead of State Street. Police can spend that time clearing others off the street, allowing bar patrons to trickle out to a relatively calm street and easing the stress placed upon police.
The key is to stagger the groups that leave State Street, not keep throngs in choke points itching to riot.
Still, more action than merely city regulation needs to occur for a successful Halloween. For far too long, students from other schools and states have come to our Halloween party to wreak havoc upon Madison's downtown and it is due time that UW-Madison students take some responsibility for curbing this trend. Non-students accounted for 391 of the 450 arrests last year.
According to Cieslewicz, \The well of good will for this event has run dry outside of student circles."" The weight for creating a safe and orderly party therefore need not rest entirely upon the city's shoulders. If students continue to invite an abundance of friends, we may soon find our Halloween party either gone or distorted and ruined by far more punitive measures than we currently face.
Students need to resist the urge to invite friends to partake in what was once and should again be a peaceful tradition exclusive to the UW-Madison community.
