Just reading over Patrick’s discussion with Brittany Wiegand over possible sponsorship of the Mifflin St Block Party next spring. Apparently the Majestic has floated the idea of working with ASM to sponsor the event, with ASM providing $100,000 and the Majestic providing bands and beer vendors.
Here’s the thing: the street would be fenced off and only accessible to those 21 and older. According to Wiegand, the underagers would still be allowed on the sidewalks and front yards, just not on the street.
The only thing I can determine from this description is that of-age students would have access to cold, good beer while the underagers would probably still be drinking warm Keystone Light from backpacks.
Patrick and company make the argument that $100,000 of funding shouldn’t go to an event that all students can’t benefit from. Is this a tacit acknowledgement that the central benefit of Mifflin to students is inebriation? I hope so — my experience at Mifflin would certainly lead me to agree with such a conclusion. That’s not to say that it couldn’t change, especially if better music is provided by the Majestic.
Patrick’s argument against funding for an event that neglects over half of the UW undergraduate population is fair. The university has found ways to be inclusive while obeying drinking laws in the past. Take the the student union, the biggest beer distributor in the state, for instance. Although the union unfortunately restricts underage students from the privileges of the pitcher (quite aggressively at times), it nevertheless does not forbid any student from any area of the union.
It probably wouldn’t be fair for me to comment further on what ASM funding would do to the event, we don’t know enough yet. All I know is that this frenzy to regulate Mifflin is laughably overstated. The skyrocketing number in arrests is not due to increased rowdiness from students, but rather excessive enforcement by the police department and probably the mayor’s office. Tough questions should be asked of Police Chief Noble Wray and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, as well as of ASM and the Majestic.
