UW-Madison students may find themselves wandering over to the Mifflin Street Block Party earlier than usual this year.
The event traditionally happens the first Saturday in May, and if the tradition continues this year, the party would be held on May 7, the day before finals begin.
The two-block bash began in 1969 as a street dance to gather the residents of Mifflin St. and celebrate the coming of spring.
In recent years the Mifflin Street Block Party has encountered controversy with increasing crowd numbers, balcony mishaps and keg limitations.
This year, confusion rises as Mifflin Street residents and the Madison Police Department must collectively decide when to hold the block party. The obvious decision for UW-Madison students is to hold Mifflin Street Block Party April 30, one Saturday earlier.
However, Madison Police do not approve of a date switch. Madison Police Captain Mary Schauf said it would be extremely inconvenient to reschedule all the police planning that must go into an event like the Mifflin Street Block Party.
\We already have some special events teams coming to work there,"" she said. ""We take certain dates and say nobody can get off. Mifflin is an example where we just don't let employees take vacation.""
Mifflin St. residents argue the party is for them and feel the date must be changed.
UW-Madison junior Kate Streit lives on Mifflin Street, and she and her roommates may not participate if the Mifflin Street Block Party will be held May 7.
""That's ridiculous. I'd probably leave because I have a final the first day,"" she said. ""I think they should switch it.""
Schauf said she feels the party should be left on the day it is, and students could take a day off from studying to celebrate before their finals start. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, does not agree.
""I think that's wholly unrealistic,"" he said. ""It would be totally perverse for all the cops to come to Mifflin on May 7 when everyone is going to be at Helen C. White.""
A meeting is typically held prior to Mifflin Street Block Party so neighborhood residents and police can communicate expectations.
Verveer is considering an earlier meeting so students can voice their concerns over the date to Madison's police force.
""Many cops scheduled their lives around the block party assuming it would be May 7, however if there's thousands of people descending on the neighborhood kegs in tow, the police are going to have to react,"" he said.
Verveer urges Mifflin St. residents to rise to the occasion and start a petition to let the city know that this year Mifflin should be held on April 30.
