The entirety of the UW-Madison student body has elected to participate in a sobriety pledge in order to have Madison officials restore the annual Mifflin Street Block party to its former status.
The pledge was announced Wednesday through a YouTube video entitled “Save Mifflin” which was also emailed to UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam. It will consist of absolutely no consumption of alcohol or any other intoxicant by all students and will last indefinitely—or at least until Mifflin comes back.
“To us Badgers, Mifflin was never really about the booze,” sixth- year senior and former binge drinker Chad Stevens said. “Mifflin represents a crossroads between seasons as well as phases of our lives, as we finish each school year looking forward to our summer pursuits and the future. It’s more of a rite of passage than a party.”
The Mifflin Street Block Party originated in 1969 as a peaceful protest, but gradually gained notoriety for its increasingly large crowds, excessive binge drinking and criminal activity. The all-day gathering occurred on the first Saturday each May up until 2013 when it was unofficially cancelled after the 2012 event saw over 500 citations issued by Madison police.
Starting in 2013, Madison installed “Revelry,” an annual Music and Arts festival on the same date as Mifflin in order to offer students an alternative. The 2014 show’s headliners include Dillon Francis and Waka Flocka Flame.
“2012 Mifflin was nuts, man,” three-year West Mifflin Street resident Samuel “Sober Sam” DiSalvatore said with slurred speech while struggling to maintain balance. DiSalvatore had many more incomprehensible quotes to offer on the issue while face-down and on the verge of passing out.
The “Save Mifflin” video went viral soon after its release and has now become the second fastest video to ever reach 50 million views, trailing only “KONY 2012.” The 17-minute film—which was collectively produced by all 30,000 undergraduate students— details the importance of Mifflin to UW culture and informs viewers that should the event be restored, no drinking will occur during its future installments.
At press time, #SoberMifflin was trending on Twitter and the majority of the student body was considering offering another sobriety pledge to increase the size of the student section at football games.
