After the Alcohol Licensing Density Plan passed last fall, I'm sure many of us hoped the crackdown on alcohol use in Madison would die down. Although we didn't support it, we eventually accepted the fact that no new bars would be in town anytime soon. Well, they're at it again, and it's a familiar foe - Capital Neighborhoods, Inc.
In a report presented last Thursday, the neighborhood association made many recommendations hoping to reduce downtown drunkenness and related crime and violence,"" according to the report's title. Through increased prices, increased enforcement and less density, CNI looks to fit the university into its own little Madison mold.
""Raising taxes and fines, along with 'cracking down' on underage bar patrons, will not stop students from drinking,"" said Ald. Eli Judge, District 8. ""Instead, it will, in my opinion, drive them to dangerous house parties in the neighborhoods CNI is trying to
maintain.""
If that argument sounds familiar it's because it is. Students, led by Judge, made the same argument against the ALDP in September, but unfortunately not enough people listened. If you thought that plan was bad, this one goes even further - way further.
The worst of the recommendations calls for a 20 percent increase in alcohol prices in areas with high alcohol-related crime. According to CNI President Ledell Zellers, they aren't ""exactly sure how prices would increase.""
""We hope that attorneys and city officials will help us figure that out,"" she said. What it would come down to is increasing alcohol taxes and abolishing the cap on license fees, which combined will make bars more expensive to run, thus forcing them to raise prices.
Aside from the obvious negative implications for small businesses, higher prices will not stop students from drinking but will, as Judge said, push them into unregulated house parties, often in CNI neighborhoods. If CNI's concerns are noise, violence and property damage, an increase in prices will be quite counterproductive.
The CNI report also hopes to crackdown on underage drinking, which is undoubtedly a problem in this city. Their solution: double the number of citations for underage drinking and fake IDs from Madison and UW Police and double the disciplinary actions taken by the university.
""The law is an effective deterrent only if individuals who are tempted to break the law are fearful of getting caught,"" Zellers said. ""Currently many students break alcohol-related laws without consequences. Heightening enforcement will decrease alcohol over consumption and related property destruction, disturbances, violence and other crime.""
Although this would help, initiating a system based on quotas is not the answer - it only takes much-needed police resources off the streets, where they can prevent violent crime, and into house parties and bars to bust underage drinkers. Quotas put the onus on police to take action when action may not be necessary.
It also places undue burden on the underage drinkers who practice moderation and are not a problem in Madison. Police and students have a fairly good relationship in this city because we know as long as we don't get out of control, police aren't likely to take action. As a student, the threat of a ticket doesn't scare me as much as the threat of the back of a squad car if I do something stupid.
In addition, considering half the arrests downtown from Thursday to Saturday are not even students, according to MPD Lt. Joe Balles, one has to wonder how effective this solution can be when it ignores half the problem.
UW-Madison has already made great strides in preventing crime through programs like Neighborhood Watch and by increasing lighting on dimly lit streets. These non-alcohol-related policies have made the city safer by focusing on criminals, not the 19-year-olds who just want to have a few drinks and not cause any problems.
Although CNI's recommendations do not hold any legal sway over the city council or the university, this doesn't mean students shouldn't get involved and make their voices heard. At the final ALDP meeting in September, only three students showed up to voice their opposition, something Judge is sure to work on improving.
Seeing as we're a tremendous constituency in Madison, especially in CNI neighborhoods, we can't make this mistake again. I urge you to get involved and show CNI, the university and the city council it's time to listen to students.
Erik Opsal is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
