H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°City officials gave a sigh of relief last night when organizers decided to cancel Saturday’s alternative Halloween party on Mifflin Street.
After about a week of media attention, neighborhood opposition and an hour-long meeting with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, and Capt. Mary Schauf, the three main organizers called off the event.
“We are thrilled with the students’ decision to reconsider their plan,” Verveer said.
Although students achieved their main goal of making a statement about Freakfest, some said they alienated Mifflin residents in the process.
Although none of the main organizers live on Mifflin, the street was selected because of its association with challenging authority, according to the organizers.
Supporters chalked sidewalks, hung posters and created a Facebook group to attract student attention, which is how students and Mifflin residents first heard about the event.
“I had never heard anything about it until I saw a sign on State Street for it on Wednesday,” Mifflin resident and University of Wisconsin senior Beto McQuade said.
Many residents said they were angry after finding out their street had become the new party location. Residents and city officials feared the violence that occurred in previous years on State Street would happen on Mifflin.
“I understand what [organizers] are trying to do, but I don’t want crazy, drunk people in masks running around my house,” Mifflin resident and UW junior Jacob Ross said.
UW junior and Mifflin resident David Spitz created a petition against the event on Thursday and within two hours of work he received more than 50 signatures and only two refusals.
Even before officially canceling the event, some organizers began to think they had made some errors in planning.
“I do apologize to the residents,” event organizer Alexandra Demitrack said. “It was unfair to them. If anything we should have just advertised it as a ‘boycott State Street’ party.”
Mifflin residents said although the area is famous for its spring block party, a Halloween party was not a good idea. Students said the daylight at the block party would make a big difference in people’s actions and accountability.
“The block party is during the day,” Spitz said. “You can see everyone and know what’s going on. At night, this street is terribly lit.”
Other residents opposed the party because of the unwanted stress, fear of vandalism and potential tickets.
“Dealing with all the stress of Mifflin [Block Party] once a year is enough for me,” Mifflin resident and UW senior Jill Mueller said.
Organizers began planning the event less than two weeks ago in order to offer partygoers a chance to collectively boycott Freakfest.
In past years, as State Street has become more regulated, sponsored and expensive, some UW students have complained the city has gone too far.
“[The Mifflin organizers] feel that Halloween has become too sterile,” Verveer said. “They don’t think Freakfest is a good time.”
Demitrack said the event is another example of students having their freedom taken away.
“The original intention was not about having a huge party, but to show that people are sick of the overbearing regulation and babysitting on State Street,” Demitrack said.
In the coming year, the Mifflin organizers have agreed to work with city officials to make next year’s Freakfest more enjoyable for all students.
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“Although none of the main organizers live on Mifflin…”
sigh.
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sounds like the organizers were acting more like high schoolers than college students, not thinking their actions all the way through, setting up an event at someone else’s expense/living arrangements, and hoping that if they got in trouble that their parents would come and bail them out.
If you don’t like what State Street has to offer, then by all means go somewhere else, that is the great thing about the UW campus. Don’t have an id to get into the bars, join the greek system. Don’t want to join the greek system, there are tons of house parties, etc, etc.
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maybe if we got rid of all the out of towners we wouldnt have these problems
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“In the coming year, the Mifflin organizers have agreed to work with city officials to make next year�s Freakfest more enjoyable for all students.”
Mayor Dave is the king of placation. Just like with HAC Madison he is promising to listen to these students next year, but won’t really. He’ll only listen to Frank Productions who only care about their bottomline.
The real State Street Halloween party is tonight after Atmosphere at the Orpheum.
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“students having their freedoms taken away”…
what freedom is that? The freedom to take over a public street anytime they wish, thereby taking the freedom away from anyone else who wants to use it?
Seems to me the city if allowing the students’ freedom to take over the street by re-routing traffic, staffing with security and cops, CLEANING UP AFTERWARDS, etc…
What freedom are they losing? The freedom they grew up with where mommy and daddy allowed them anything they wanted with no personal responsibility whatsoever? It’s called growing up.
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Great reporting, although you missed the chance for a witty lead.
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I for one am glad that the police are keeping everyone in line. I feel much safer going to an event under an artificial sun surrounded by riot police on horseback. It’s nice to know that the police are there to protect me from myself. In addition I get to get rid of some of that cumbersome money in my pocket. It sure is nice to live in a society where everything is so tightly controlled.
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i kind of agree with them. who ever said you had to grow up? who ever said you had to give up your freedoms. i don’t agree with putting on the event put this is just another thing chipping away at our personal freedoms…even if it is this small.
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wow how many of the previous comments came out of the mayor’s office? Let’s be honest the organizers didn’t decide to cancel it. the city threaten them with arrest or civil damages to the point that mayor dave got his way and will ruin another halloween. call me crazy but maybe the city should have taken the opposite approach for dealign with halloween, tell the bars to stop serving at a certain time and instead of sending in the riot police for no reason let people get off a public street at their own pace. what’s the point of getting the street clear by 3 or 4 am? were you going to walk down it to go to work? are the buses even running?
no this was definitely another power grab by our overbearing over zealous power hungry mayor with nothing better to do than get off by harassing students
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Frickin’ IDIOTS - they were quoted in the paper as saying students have a right to “party however they want.” Um….no, they don’t. My right to swing my fist ends where the next person’s face begins. They’re such children!!! NOBODY has the right to party however they want. I don’t have the right to have a grenade party and throw them at whomever I want. I don’t have the right to have a bat party and hit people as they walk by. And YOU don’t have the right to have a booze swilling party that ALWAYS, INEVITABLY leads to some sort of destruction, physical harm, or other lewd and disgusting behavior.
State street’s not the same as it used to be…. wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…. by “not the same” you OBVIOUSLY mean there are no riots, no property damage, no pepper spraying, etc. What the hell is wrong with you people??? You’ve honestly never been out on your own, working hard so you can pay your own way through life, committing hours of your life to a job so that you can buy your own car, only to have it flipped and burned by idiot drunks? You should ask all the people that the drunk ass idiot students have f’d over in the past if THEY think that students should be able to party however they want.
Grow up, seriously.
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“After about a week of media attention, neighborhood opposition and an hour-long meeting with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, and Capt. Mary Schauf, the three main organizers called off the event.
�We are thrilled with the students� decision to reconsider their plan,� Verveer said.”
Some how I don’t think it was the organizers decision to shut down the party. I imagine having the mayor, alderman, and police captain threaten you with fines and criminal persecution may have had something to do with it.
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the students organizing the mifflin party should be expelled from this school. it’s idiots like that that give the rest of us who have brains a bad name.