Crowds of students and other revelers from out of state will descend on Madison for this year's Halloween weekend; police and university officials want to make sure they party safely when they do.
Last year, the majority of those arrested during the riots were not UW-Madison students, according to Assistant Dean of Students Laurie Berquam. People in costume on a strange campus feel anonymous and do not think about the consequences of their actions, Berquam said.
So far, officials are not sure how many out-of-state visitors are coming to Madison. But many people from other states have checked out the Web site , according to organizer Will Komassa. Komassa's group, Madtown productions, lists bands and other events taking place on LIbrary Mall Nov. 1.
The Web site, which describes the festivities, can track the host sites which people log on from. Komassa said most of the hosts have been in Wisconsin, but he has also tracked \a ton"" from Minnesota, Illinois and as far away as New York.
Komassa and Madison Police Central District Captain Luis Yudice said they do not think the events or the Web site's publicity will draw extra people to town.
""The bottom line is that last year we did not have that ... and we still had a lot of people from out of town,"" Yudice said.
Meanwhile officials are planning ahead in case a lot of out-of-towners do come.
Berquam said she is contacting the deans of students from all other UW System schools, as well as the Universities of Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa and others. She said she will ask for their support to make sure the students know that they need to be respectful visitors.
If any of their students get arrested, she will notify their deans after the fact, Bergquam said. She added not all codes of conduct cover incidents that happen off-campus, but she wants the students to know they will be held somewhat accountable, unlike those who destroyed property last year.
""Basically, they got away with it because nobody on their campus knew about it,"" she said.
Police are also increasing their force on the street. Lt. Mary Schauf said the department will put out its entire special events team on State Street Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, because only half of its staff was put out last Nov. 2 during the riots.
The State Patrol will handle a traffic management plan and officers from every section of the police department will be pulled to work the weekend, Schauf said. They will heavily patrol the Langdon, Mifflin and College-Spring-Fahrenbrook neighborhoods as well.
