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The debate over this year’s Mifflin Street Block Party date continued as students voiced their concerns at a meeting in the Madison Senior Center Thursday night.
University of Wisconsin students and Mifflin Street residents discussed implications students and the city may face if the party is held on May 7, the university’s official Finals Study Day.
The Madison Police Department and Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the meeting was arranged to give students the opportunity to hear the city’s concerns, as well to offer their own.
“We thought it was incumbent to have a dialogue as soon as possible,” Verveer said with concern over the block party, which falls in his district.
Assistant Chief of Police Capt. Mary Schauf said the police department would face staffing issues if the event were changed to the April 30 date many students desire.
The MPD has already scheduled the proper number of police officers for May 7.
“The planning is resource intensive,” Schauf said.
Staffing additional officers would create a cost burden for the city, Schauf added.
Students remained concerned and suggested the date be changed in order to avoid the balancing of studying with the daylong party event.
UW senior Greg Knowles said he thinks it is important for the city to support academics over drinking and that most students would be unable to attend the event in May.
“While the tradition is May, it’s an obvious conflict of interest,” Knowles said.
Knowles said he appreciates the effort the police are making to compromise but that most students are planning on having their parties April 30, regardless of the formal party date in May.
UW sophomores Ben Bergstrom and Paul Jones said one of their biggest concerns is the number of students from other schools who flock to Mifflin Street each year.
A number of the students at the meeting agreed they would be unable to stop visitors from other cities from showing up on both dates, creating a problem for both residents and police.
Schauf noted that while the police department staffed officers for May 7, they have contingency plans in place if parties are held in April, saying, “The city will be prepared.”
Some students suggested an organization or group sponsor the event to mark a clear date as well as to cover city costs, as done in years past.
However, Verveer said the block party has not had a sponsor since 1991, when the Mifflin Street Co-op organized the event.
Schauf said it would be difficult to find a sponsor because of the liability issues arising from the amount of alcohol consumption occurring.
Students will be able to discuss issues such as police actions if the party is to occur in April in another upcoming meeting.
Although Verveer said the meeting was a successful dialogue, many residents left disappointed no official date was set for the event.
“This is a huge deal to [Madison police] to change the date,” Verveer said. “This is something the police have to think long and hard about.”
Bergstrom, who said he will not host a party this year, said students will not consider partying May 7 since they have already planned on the end of April.
“It’s a standstill between the cops and the students,” Bergstrom said.
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Dear Madison,
Please decide when you are going to have Mifflin so I can make my airline reservations.
Love, Pop Tarts
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Since when are students concerned about having a party on the a Study Day? Pretty lame, Milhouse, pretty lame.
And the need to have a special meeting at a senior center to decide this? This “open dialogue” with the city is a crock.
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Why the hell did the cops schedule for May 7th? Of course virtually no students are going to be drinking all day the day before finals. That’s just common sense. Remember, we do party hard, but we also study hard as well!
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Puss. A real student blows off the studying and hits the block party, and day of the week.
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As a grad student who lives in the Mifflin Street area, I really would like to see the block party postponed until AFTER finals. I am really concerned about the noise and disruption that will interfere with studying, as it’s already loud enough around here on a normal day. I did more than my share of partying as an undergrad, so I do understand that the party impulse of drunken 19-year olds is tough to silence, but PLEASE! Those of us that are a little older and wiser have learned that the beer isn’t going anywhere- it will still be there AFTER finals!
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“Puss. A real student blows off the studying and hits the block party, and day of the week.”
I’d love to know what your GPA is.
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If you’re a grad student, why the hell are you living on west Mifflin if studying is of that great importance to you? Smart grad students have learned to live on the west side of campus where it’s quite. You’re a giant pussy. Come August it’s time to move.
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Are students asking permission to hold the party on the 30th of April? It’s your party, not the city’s. Hold true to the spirit of those that started the party. A simple heads up is considerate, asking permission is just lame.
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My GPA ain’t great, but you’ll find that employers couldn’t give two $hits once you get out. Difference between a 2.5 and 3.5 is nil.
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I agree that its the residents party, so what have the cops got to do with it anyway. Mary Schauf keeps saying that theyre planning for everyones “safety”. Safety my ass. The message should be for the cops to stay in the taxpayer funded police station, and if we need them we will call them. WHO INVITED THE COPS TO THE PARTY ANYWAY? Its clear to me that the only reason the cops are there is to write tickets to make money for the city. Most people if not all at the party are over 18 years old, so they dont need mommy or daddy there to hold their hand and they certainly dont need the cops there over their shoulders. In fact, you cant really call it a party if the cops are everywhere, it just destroys the mood. And the mayor too? He doesnt own the city, he is just a caretaker of the city, so he should really do what the taxpayers wish to be done, not order them around and have it done his way.
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That last comment about the police was ridiculous.
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With all the controversy surrounding the dates of the Mifflin Street Block party, it appears there is one option that has absolutely no truck with students - actually getting a head start on studying.
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um, april 30th is the crazylegs race also…..and for those of you that don’t know, it usually attracts about 90-100 THOUSAND people to downtown Madison.
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I agree with the comment about the police/city. Since when does planning a party have to involve the police and mayor, not to mention that jammer Mike Verveer who is always sticking his nose into students’ business.
Let the students decide!!!
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The party should have been held over winter break so you drunken bastards could freeze your nads off.
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Just cancel the damn party. It’s a shit idea to have one anyway. Everybody should run Crazylegs instead. Get yo fat azzes in shape.
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since when was tradition in may? i always thought it was the last weekend of freedom before finals - i just find it absurd to schedule a party around the cops’ schedule. If this isn’t resolved, there’s probably going to be some sort of riot if the cops decide to start busting people, they should be well aware of this.
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The difference between a 2.5 and a 3.5 is graduate school, which you’re probably not planning of attending, which is of course fine, to each their own. I only bring this up because rather than sitting at our computers bitching with each other, we need to just decide as a group that its going down on April 30. Using the quote from the article, “the city will be prepared.” Either 1)that was a lie, or 2)they’ll be ready and everything will be just fine. I wish someone would come out and actually say why this was such a problem for the city, because if its someone who just doesnt want to do some extra paperwork I’m going to be very upset.
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Check for Mifflin St Block Party news and updates at www.MadisonRiots.com - click on forums.
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I just think it is really poor planning on behalf of the Madison Police. If they had even checked one university calendar they would have been able to anticipate the conflict. This whole problem is clearly their fault and they should try to accomodate it. Plus, if people are unhappy with Mifflin, there is a higher risk of riots… And it isn’t fair to the people who want to be studying in their own apartment during the party!
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If you read the article, it’s not just extra paper work, it’s taking away people’s vacation time that they applied for in January. I realize they made a stupid mistake on this one, but I can’t help but think the residents are bargaining in the wrong direction. A little recognition that cops need time off as well as students (and a little less gleeful anticipation of riots) would go a long way at the bargaining table, but I don’t mean to preach. I just think it’s funny that people find it impossible to pencil in a large scale riot because it’s just before finals. Not the way my daddy raised me… but I live on Wilson street, so there you go.
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Whats all this talk about riots? What has happened to the American spirit and letter of the law that mostl says innocent until proven guilty? Everyone at the party is innocent until something happens. I dont prejudge people and why do the police insist on being there and why do they keep saying the will be prepared for it? Prepared for what—that can only mean trouble, so the police are right away biased into thinking were all a bad lot and we are guilty. That there disqualifies the whole bunch of them for being biased, the should be neutral and impartial, instead they are acting like freaks about to bust open some gate of hell.
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This whole thing is a load of crap. Eaither the police will be understaffed on the 30th or OVERstaffed on the 7th. Money is going to be wasted one way or another. If nobody shows up on May 7 and all of these cops are there….well im sure the mifflin residents will feel very safe. But otherwise all thats gonna happen is the entire campus shows up on the 30th and the cops freak out b/c they didnt plan correctly and all of a sudden they are writing more tickets then ever before to try and send a message, aggervating more drunk kids, and well we all know what can happen then. Not that I’m encouraging a riot, to be honest Mifflin is a hell of a lot cooler than Halloween because its just a peaceful celebration before finals. Now with all this crap its gonna put a huge kink in the day no matter which one it is. There’s no question it should be on the 30th. Lets just hope that the police wisen up AND are able to not have a “lets show them by ticketing everyone” attitude on the 30th. With all of the controversy over Halloween, it would go a long way towards good realtionships with the student body to give a little on this one and maybe we can give a little in the future.
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I think that the MPD should accomadate the April 30 request of the students, due to the fact that the week of finals is scheduled way ahead of time and the MPD overlooked this. The MPD and the city should know by now that the students here at Madison will stick together and if push comes to shove, the students will be out on the 30th.
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If there is a riot on Mifflin day, whenever that is, that is pathetic and shameful. Riots are a serious thing property is damaged and people get hurt, even killed. Mifflin has always been a UW student event and it would put a huge stain on the student body if their was a riot, and seriously put into question the fact that the now annual organized riot we call Halloween is caused by out of staters.
Whenever it is, and I advocate tradition with the 7th, plus the obvious problems associated with the 30th, people please, party hard, but don’t riot.
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This could be the city’s attempt to diffuse the party by refusing to COMPLETELY agree on having the party on April 30. They may figure that keeping the date ambiguous will spread the revelers over two weekends diluting the intense partying. Make no mistake, THE PARTY WILL BE APRIL 30, NO ONE WILL SHOW UP MAY 7TH