When Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced plans last year to fence off State Street and effectively charge admission to Halloween, he was met with skepticism and, in many cases, outrage. Turning one of UW-Madison's most distinctive, albeit rowdy, traditions into a paid event seemed far-fetched. Ultimately, the mayor got his way. Surprisingly, everything worked out: Smaller crowds and restricted access meant a calmer atmosphere in general and, most importantly for the city, no riots.
The only real damper turned out to be the private security company Madison hired to take tickets and let people into Freakfest"" with a number of employees failing to show up for work and leaving many entrance and exit points unmanned. This year, Cieslewicz has a new company lined up, one with more experience and reliability.
It seems like a step in the right direction, but also leads to the question of whether city hall has successfully neutered Halloween, turning an inherently wild occasion into Madison's equivalent of Summerfest, a festival that has been gutted of any musical edginess and now caters to a comfortable class of middle-aged beer drinkers.
Madison is closer to that point than most probably realize, and upping the price of same-day tickets to $7, stressing live music as the main attraction, and hiring top-of-the-line security personnel does little to suggest otherwise. There is no denying that Halloween had grown out of control in the run-up to last year's overhaul, with a sizable portion of those in attendance practically demanding tear gas before calling it a night, but the outrage of aldermen from the city's outer reaches has pushed the last Saturday in October in another direction entirely. They saw money being poured into State Street debauchery that could otherwise be directed to potholes and bus stops and rallied for change, or at least a better financial picture.
So now we have Freakfest, which is actually a solid compromise at this point. Indeed, $7 (or $5 in advance) hardly makes a dent in the budget of a Madison student and the police seem willing to make some allowances for questionable behavior that they do not otherwise, such as on Mifflin Street as of late.
Still, there would likely be little political opposition to a higher ticket price, more police and more security guards in the future. As a result, the burden falls on students to speak up, get involved and retain at least some control of Halloween.
