In order to make Halloween a safe, peaceful and enjoyable weekend, the following question must be answered: Who is responsible for the events of Halloween?
The annual party on State Street is not sponsored by the city, university or any other entity. However, every year, scores of thousands of students and their visitors converge downtown and, although most have the best of intentions, pandemonium ensues.
The city has always done its part. The mayor's office and police officials ought to be commended for their hard work. Although, as this editorial board has previously expressed, their final contingency plan lacks some crucial follow-through, many in Madison sacrifice in order to allow the festivities to occur. Last year, thousands of hours of police work and additional security resources cost Madison taxpayers $255,000.
University officials have always attempted to keep their distance from the Halloween fiasco-and for good measure. The annual revelry makes for poor public relations and erodes the reputation of Wisconsin's flagship public campus.
Associated Students of Madison does not have enough resources to stop an 80,000-plus crowd from spiraling out of control into riots. In past years they have contributed numerous promising options to get students off State Street, but all have failed. Although their lack of involvement in planning for this year's Halloween is perturbing-including their failure to ensure that Memorial Union is open to those with no interest in State Street??-they should not be held accountable for Halloween.
While downtown businesses surely profit from the influx of students and their friends on Halloween weekend, they are not at fault either. Additionally, many bars and taverns have been more than willing to cooperate with the city by closing early and allowing their back doors to be used as temporary exit points.
Responsibility for the potentially disastrous event lies with the students of UW-Madison. Students need to keep their friends away, act with civility and find better things to do than march up and down State Street in a drunken haze waiting for others to pick a fight, harass a police officer or start a tire on fire.
Considering the thinning support among the rest of Madison, students must shoulder the burden of responsibility this year or we may not have a Halloween at all next year.
