In an effort to downsize Madison's annual, and historically violent, Halloween celebration, UW Housing will not allow any guests to stay in the dorms from Friday, Oct. 28 through Tuesday, Nov. 1.
\The problem is even if you just allow [students] to bring one guest, you still possibly could double the number of students on campus,"" said Paul Evans, director of UW Housing. It was easier to simply say no guests are allowed than to choose a set maximum number, he added.
This decision comes on the heels of a series of planning meetings between the city, the university and UW-Madison students. However, according to Lori Berquam, interim dean of students, this was solely a UW administration decision.
""We're making a statement to the city that we're doing something,"" she said, adding the dorms were the only place where they could control how many visitors descend upon State Street for the festivities.
According to Associated Students of Madison member and 2004 Halloween Planning Committee Chair Matt Rink, the university met behind closed doors before opening the discussion up to students. He did note the university tried to collect student input over the summer.
UW Housing sent a letter to all incoming dorm residents in August outlining the policy and explaining that housing officials will require they show identification to enter their residence halls during Halloween weekend. Students also learned about the policy during their SOAR sessions.
Evans indicated it will be difficult to ensure that dorm rooms remain guest-free, and said Housing will have to create a solid system to check on students.
One of the primary motivations behind the no-guest decision, according to Berquam, was that only a small portion of the citations handed out last year were for UW-Madison students. The rest were for students from other UW universities or from out-of-state.
""The tagline has been, 'Let's blame the UW students.' ... If we don't take Halloween back, it's going to go in a bad place,"" she said.
Berquam also said she thinks the no-guest policy will help students. She said many students have told her it was difficult for them to say ""no"" to their friends who wanted to come and stay for the weekend, and ended up having more guests than they wanted stay in their rooms.
Evans said he has only received two e-mails complaining about the policy so far.
""I think generally kids don't approve. At the same time, students understand the situation somewhat, but not necessarily why it is coming back at us,"" Rink said.
""This is not a forever measure,"" Berquam stressed. ""This is the stance for 2005.\
