Part of the ongoing confusion regarding the state of Wisconsin's 2007-09 budget involves a proposal meant to increase the safety of University of Wisconsin-Madison students and downtown residents. Recently, Police Chief Noble Wray, with the support of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the Madison City Council, announced a plan to put 30 new police officers on patrol throughout Madison's occasionally rowdy areas that serve as the center of student nightlife.

Although most have lauded the idea as a necessary step in reducing the problem of nighttime violence that has plagued our streets for the last few years, the culture of suspicion has targeted this seemingly practical proposal. Students complain this is just another way for the city to focus their energy on student drinking. For students, this is just another proposal aimed at ending their good time while police ignore the actual criminal problems the city faces.

Certainly, drinking is a huge part of Madison social life and most of us enjoy the practice of letting loose when class gets out. For some, myself included, this involves sometimes overstepping the boundaries of what, in a normal setting, is deemed "socially acceptable," and allowing ourselves to become inebriated beyond belief and, at times, beyond control. What most students don't realize is that there are consequences to this behavior that go beyond the easily dismissible long-term health concerns. Students do not seem to understand the connection between the ongoing violence and the culture of drunken debauchery that characterizes student nightlife.

I am not attempting, in any way, to blame the student body for violent acts committed within their community by depraved and desperate individuals. The tragic attacks involving young women late at night are a tragedy committed by the worst kinds of citizens; they must stop. But it is too difficult to limit these crimes solely through police intervention . Although it is true that an increase of street lights, police patrolling and municipal videotaping is a positive deterrent to the ones committing crimes, we cannot blame police for attempting to limit the activity that allows victims to put themselves in a dangerous position.

I must praise the groups who understand this, such as SAFEwalk and Guardian Angels. If these systems could end the endemic of late night attacks against intoxicated young men and women, the student complaints of increased police presence in their nightlife would become understandable. Yet, the attacks continue and the stories of abuse appear far too often.

If students are serious in their desire for a safer campus community, a trade-off must be made. Although, under normal circumstances, the appearance of a police officer during a night out is a recipe for disaster, students must accept that if police presence increases with the intention of citizen protection, it is a good thing. Contrary to popular belief, they are not out to "get" students, but rather to protect them. This is true no matter how unjustified you believe your public intoxication citation was when you were singing Journey in the middle of Langdon Street with a BAC closer to comatose then sobriety.

This is not to say that police should have free reign to use their power in the name of public safety. An increase of 30 officers should not equal an increase in frivolous citations. It only means there are more eyes out there to watch for those of us who overstep the limits, put targets on our backs and open ourselves up to the possibility of victimization. Their objective would not be to end student nightlife, but to expand the possibility of finding those individuals who enjoy it to excess and put themselves and others in harm's way.

It is this trade-off that must be accepted by the student body. Street violence is not a one-sided issue creating a culture of police versus citizens. We can do our part by accepting a notion of personal responsibility while still relishing in the festive ethos that is the UW-Madison nightlife.

Ben White ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and sociology.