H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°After months of planning and speculation, Halloween 2006 is finally upon us. Considering the blitz of national and local news coverage highlighting the negative aspects of the party, it's easy to forget it hasn't always ended with pepper spray.
It is especially important for students to avoid irresponsible behavior this year, as a disaster resembling those in years past will be seen as cause to shut down the party for good. The mayor and Madison residents have made it abundantly clear that patience is wearing thin for the yearly disorder on State Street.
In 2001, the crowd was estimated at 60-70,000 and no damage was reported. Yet the following year, with police numbers cut from 100 to 50, $32,000 worth of damage was done to local businesses and the crowd was pepper sprayed and tear gassed in Madison for the first time in 30 years. In 2003, store windows were again smashed as a free concert at library mall backfired and the crowd dispersed into the streets at 2:30 am. Once again, pepper spray was used to control the gathering.
In 2004, the crowd peaked at 75,000 and 450 arrests were made — 57 of which were UW students. The police dispersed the crowd at 2 am with pepper spray. Last year, the largest crowd in Madison Halloween history was estimated and detox was filled. Police dispersed the crowd with pepper spray before violence erupted in response to taunting and chanting by 2,000 revelers who ignored loudspeaker warnings.
The goal of UW students this Halloween should be to start a new 30 year pepper spray drought. That means no cutting the orange barricades, not inviting all the guys from out of town you knew for 2 weeks during high school, and looking out for the safety of everyone around you. Of course, we will need restraint from the Madison Police Department to make this dream a reality, but if we avoid punching the horses and chanting for pepper spray, the pepper spray may never come. This board calls on the student body to have a happy, safe and responsible Halloween celebration.
IP hash: d651660a
It just amazes me that some of the most privileged kids in the country get so drunk that they violently riot and destory public and private property and this city writes it off as “boys will be boys”.
But one dude gets stabbed in front of the Majestic and it’s time to ban rap music, take away the rights of a private business, and start screaming racist rhetoric because the end is near.
What a drunk, stupid little town.
IP hash: 2a3a2cb7
Wait are you defending the Majestic? Halloween is one weekend a year. Granted their have been arrests during the Halloween weekend but its not an every weekend problem like it WAS at the Majestic. Get over it, the Majestic is a breeding ground for violence and im glad its gone. Also read the fine print, most of the arrests are made from out of towners, so its not our “drunk, stupid little town” that is at fault. Its probably those damn majestic patrons that dont even go to school here causing the problems on Halloween.
IP hash: d651660a
The response to the problems is what makes Madison a stupid little town, but the commenter above seems to be doing his part as well.
The continued tolerance of thousands of people (who really don’t have a damn thing to be upset about) rioting each year compared with six isolated weekends in which there were problems at the Majestic.
One riot gets sanctioned by the city with plenty of deference to the needs of the bars and frat boys, the response to the other is to effectively shut down the business tied to the problem. Double standard.
By the way, some of the people at the Majestic were also students at the UW. Black people go to college too (and they’re not all athletes, contrary to what a poll of undergrads would find).
IP hash: e62b1af8
It’s the out-of-towners and non-UW kids that cause most of the trouble. They’re too dumb to get into UW, so decide to come and ruin our campus.