Madison City Common Council District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan is working with the Madison Police Department to create a policy that will allow leniency toward underage drinking in cases of medical emergencies.
Alder MGR, who was promoted to Council Vice President on Tuesday, explained what this policy will entail.
It’s a very similar policy to what UWPD has on the books, which is medical amnesty, MGR said. Medical Amnesty is a program that allows University of Wisconsin students under the influence of an illicit substance who need medical attention to call for help without violating UWS 17 and/or 18. Medical amnesty also applies to those who are assisting the student in need of attention.
Historically, many underaged people drink the day of Mifflin Street Block Party and need medical attention but do not reach out for help for fear of consequences, according to a UW Housing statement. This policy intends to alleviate those fears ahead of the event.
“The city is going to make sure that whoever needs medical help gets the medical help that they need, and nothing else is really taken into consideration,” MGR said.
District 8 presides over UW campus grounds, as well as south campus neighborhoods east of Randall Ave., north of Regent St. and west of Park St.
UWPD’s medical amnesty program only applies to UW students, but the upcoming policy will expand leniency to all persons under 21 years of age on District 8 grounds.
MGR said the policy will even be in effect for minors in bars, but there are no specific protections regarding possession of a fake ID.
As the youngest alderperson and a recent UW graduate, MGR said his role is to represent the interests and priorities of students on campus. He said this policy is a result of the political pressure he has put on MPD for the past several months.
“It is because I have been pressuring them to do this for several months now,” MGR said. “So a lot of it is because the Common Council does oversee MPD and we do approve their policies.”
Currently, he is working with MPD to reduce the number of bar raids, which have affected many UW students.
“When it comes to all the bar raids happening, I am actively trying to work with MPD to either stop them or minimize them,” MGR said. “There has been a crazy amount of bar raids for apparently no reason.”
Until then, MGR said this policy will mainly impact people throwing and attending house parties.
The policy will go into effect April 22, just four days before the annual Mifflin Street Block Party, some of which is part of District 8 grounds.
MGR said that UW students who take advantage of this program can expect to resolve their standing through the same channels as UWPD’s medical amnesty. For those who are underage and non-UW students, MGR said they will go through a misconduct process through the MPD juvenile system to have the citation removed from their record.
