After mass crowds totaling approximately 100,000 people converged on the Halloween-choked streets of Madison this past weekend — many of whom were out-of-towners — university administrators and city police are working to punish lawbreakers.
University of Wisconsin officials have been handing over the responsibility for punishing disruptive University of Minnesota students to their school.
According to Amy Toburen, UW director of communications for University Communications, UW Chancellor John Wiley discussed the behavior of Minnesota students with the U of M chancellor Monday.
She said Wiley will help transfer official investigative reports and information to U of M administrators but noted that UW is in the initial stages of organizing and sharing this information.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 8, said he discussed the matter with Wiley.
“He informed me of the arrangements made between the respective campuses. Chancellor Wiley, as I am, are very disappointed in events that took place this weekend,” he said, adding that he is “sad and embarrassed” by some students’ behavior. “The police force was working like crazy all weekend long to keep up.”
Of the arrests spanning the entire weekend, 27 percent were Minnesota residents, while 62 percent of those arrested had Wisconsin resident addresses. Five percent of the remaining arrests were comprised of Illinois residents, and 6 percent of the individuals arrested came from other states.
Not all those arrested were taken to jail. Instead, the majority received city ordinance tickets and citations, Madison Police Public Information Officer Larry D. Kamholz said.
“It’s important to understand that it’s not just Minnesota people,” Kamholz said.
He said the U of M has contacted the Madison Police asking for names and information of Minnesota residents who were arrested.
Once this information reaches Minnesota administrators, Verveer said “letters of concern” will be placed in the permanent file of Minnesota students who were involved in any illegal or disruptive behavior. These letters could be detrimental to students in the future, he added.
Because the Madison Halloween festivities were not affiliated with the U of M, Minnesota codes of policy will not affect disruptive students.
Verveer noted that the Minnesota conduct codes are very similar to those of UW; neither school has off-campus sanctions.
In addition to discussing matters with Wiley, the U of M chancellor was called by Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, but Verveer was not certain if the two parties actually reached each other.
