Last year, nearly 40,000 people crowded Mifflin Street for the
famous annual block party. To the revelers’ credit, the event went
rather smoothly. No major incidents of criminal activity were
reported, and unlike the 2002 event, no sexual assaults occurred.
Much of the praise for last year’s peaceful, fun-loving day goes to
the Madison Police Department and residents of Mifflin.

After rioting plagued the 1996 block party, safety became a
major concern. In light of that event, we call on students and
police alike not to take the annual party for granted. It is made
possible by cooperation between a community of students and law
enforcement officials, and should the situation turn sour this
year, city regulators may find themselves forced to shutdown future
parties before they start. It is up to students and Mifflin Block
Party attendees to take care that the party remain safe in
2004.

The two biggest answers to maintaining this stability is
cooperation and communication. We applaud City Council President
Mike Verveer in his efforts to highlight these needs. Last night he
hosted a meeting (an annual tradition since 1996) for law
enforcement officials and residents of Mifflin Street to discuss
how best to regulate the block party. These open lines of
communication contribute to the success of the party by ensuring
residents and law enforcement officials act together in pursuit of
safety.

Though this preparation has proved vital in maintaining peaceful
partying, we question whether the new four keg limit proposed by
the police department is necessary or even practical.

While we agree that upward of 40 barrels per house is a recipe
for disaster, limiting four kegs per house is simply not plausible.
The sheer amount of police power required to enforce such a rule
would detract from the overall mission of keeping the street
orderly and safe. And for the past seven years, the large majority
of students have displayed a considerable ability to conduct the
event in a safe manner while interacting cordially with police.

We call on the police to continue their respectable treatment of
students as adults. While working with residents to create
practical and agreeable policies, police must also sit down with
students to reasonably sort out their motivations for this added
regulation.