Recent proposals passed through Madison’s City Council will affect University of Wisconsin students greatly and achieve the council’s goal for 2018 — ruin the lives of UW students.
In February, the council passed legislation which creates a boundary for where liquor licenses can be issued in Madison. This boundary includes one of the busiest parts of Madison for students — State Street.
These new changes will create a complete change of everyday life for UW students and allow lawmakers to shut-down many weekend activities for college students.
Mayor Saul Poglin said this has been the City Council’s goal throughout the entire legislative process.
“The reputation Madison has gained over the years as a party school needs to end,” Poglin said. “These new pieces of legislation will effectively prevent the continuation of that reputation.”
Poglin added this has been his goal for a while, as the binge-drinking climate in Madison has gotten worse throughout the years and students are losing sight of what’s important — helping him win the gubernatorial race.
In addition to the February legislation, the council passed a proposal which would eventually phase out late night vendors completely. This legislation will also require vending carts to move to Library Mall, all the way at the end of State Street.
Many students are not happy about these changes, as they believe the legislation could completely change the climate of Madison. UW freshman Chip Otle believes these changes could potentially deter people from coming to Madison completely.
“These new bills will change the climate of Madison and strip its reputation away,” Otle said. “Many of my friends may not even come here next year because of it.”
One of the biggest groups affected will be UW’s Greek Life, as they are out more often than many other students.
Many members of Greek Life believe that no more liquor licenses around campus will mean fewer places to host socials. Additionally, they are concerned over where their late-night snack will come from if the vendors aren’t able to sell food anymore.
Chad Miller from Apple Sigma Pi believes the legislation is unacceptable and will change Madison’s Greek Life significantly.
“The new legislation in Madison is not OK. It is aimed to target students’ extracurricular activities and will completely change how people see Madison,” Miller said.
Poglin, however, disagrees with Miller. He believes these additions will bring many benefits to UW. These benefits will include less Greek Life influence on campus and more money into the local restaurants.
Poglin also added this legislation marks the first time the City Council has met a goal so fast in the year.
“This was one of the fastest goals to meet,” Poglin said. “We believe that this will effectively ruin the lives of many students … I mean change the drinking climate at Madison so it’s safer for everyone?”
