University of Wisconsin Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam, detailing the university's plans for the Halloween celebration, explained the reasoning and goal of the university's parental involvement policy at a Policy Alternatives Community Education meeting Tuesday.

Berquam clarified UW's recently introduced formal parental involvement policy, which will involve a call home to parents of underage students if the students are implicated in extreme alcohol or drug incidents.

"It's an important guideline, one that we definitely feel is critical," Berquam said of the new policy. "Since the beginning of the semester, there have been 14 transports to detox and 13 were students that were 18 or 19 years old with [blood-alcohol levels] between .19 and .32."

During last fall semester, there were only eight transports and the year before there were nine, she added.

Berquam told the committee this policy will not affect a student who receives just a single citation. Instead, calls home will be for students who have had several violations or have been intoxicated to the point of requiring a trip to detox. Students who display other high-risk behavior may also require calls.

"Violence or destructive behavior associated with an underage citation increases the sanctions," Berquam said.

Calling the parents of every student who has gotten a drinking ticket would not be possible or productive, she added.

"The goal of this policy is to address the high-risk drinking on campus," Berquam said.

In dealing with issues of high-risk binge drinking, the university addressed their influence over this year's Halloween event. Berquam noted UW does not have the wide range of influence the Madison Police Department has in dealing with potential problems on State Street during the festive weekend.

However, Berquam said the university could take actions to decrease the number of visitors from outside the city and communicate this with other Big Ten schools and students. This way, visitors will be given the opportunity to understand the expectations of the city, as well as abide by Madison's laws.

"I've already spoken with the Vice President from the University of Minnesota," Berquam said. "We literally had buses from there coming over here for the Halloween last year."

MPD central district captain Mary Schauf described the trend for out-of-town visitors on Halloween, saying many do not stay for the entire weekend.

"Friday is the day when the out-of-towners [sic] come to Madison," Schauf said. "They usually show up, get situated and then by Saturday, they're ready to go."

Schauf said the MPD is appreciative of the university's efforts to decrease the number of visitors from outside Madison.

In doing so, UW will not allow guests in the residence halls or the "shortcourse" dormatories for Halloween weekend. The university will also restrict access to UW parking lots in the downtown area. These two steps will hopefully work to curb Madison's Halloween population, Berquam said.

Berquam admitted that despite city and UW efforts, students living in houses or apartments would still invite visitors for the festivities. She added students should do their best to control the behavior of their guests.

"I think our students play a critical role in talking with their guests to help us represent the community the university and the city typically portrays," Berquam said.

The Associated Students of Madison will hold a student forum to discuss Halloween issues and behavior expectations for the weekend on Oct. 6.