In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, safety on and around campus has, understandably, become a center of public debate. It is important that we talk about and be confident in our university's ability to keep us safe from the same unthinkable atrocities that happened in Virginia. But these are not the only threats to safety that we have to worry about at the University of Wisconsin. Over the last academic year, students here at UW have experienced a rash of violence on and around campus. Many of these crimes have been related to alcohol, whether it was consumption by the victim, assailant or both. In addition to thinking about how to deal with the unthinkable, we must focus on how to curb the violence we face every day.
To their credit, the Madison Common Council and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz have had their eye on this issue for quite some time. Unfortunately, one component of their strategy is the Alcohol License Density Plan. The ALDP would essentially stop the issuance of new liquor licenses around the campus area in an effort to decrease the number of bars downtown. The theory is that a high concentration of bars leads to increased violence, and by decreasing the number of bars, alcohol-related violence downtown would also decrease.
This plan, however, has a few flaws rendering it a disadvantageous choice for this university and the city of Madison. By decreasing the number of bars, the already problematic overcrowding in downtown bars will be augmented, as will the lines to get in. More intoxicated people waiting longer to get into a bar in the cold is beyond a negative side effect; it is a recipe for disaster. This overcrowding does not only affect the lines outside the bars, but also will act as a disincentive to go to a bar in the first place. Unregulated house parties will become more appealing because they will be an easier means of getting alcohol. House parties are, by far, a more dangerous alternative to drinking in a bar. Alcohol-related violence in a bar is often throwing a punch before the police are called to break things up. Violence at a house party is a very different situation and can often be as tragic as sexual assault.
But decreasing alcohol-related violence is not quite the actual intent of this proposal. In fact, it is an attempt to decrease the amount of alcohol-related disturbances in the neighborhoods around the Capitol. The older residents in the Capitol Neighborhoods districts have complained that rowdy and drunken students are too noisy late at night, vandalize their property and can become violent. These residents are hoping that by decreasing the number of bars around them, the frequency of these incidences will go down.
The logic here is flawed, though. Beyond the negative side effects detailed above, the underlying problem in this plan is that it does not truly address the issue. The elephant in the room at any meeting or discussion about the ALDP is that when people say that they are trying to decrease alcohol-related violence, they are talking about students and specifically students' problems with over-consumption. But what the Common Council, the mayor and Capitol Neighborhoods do not seem to understand is that trying to decrease the availability of alcohol to students at bars won't stop consumption or over-consumption. We tried it once (see the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution), and it did not work out so well (see the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution). Of course the ALDP is not a citywide Prohibition, and calling it so would be irresponsible, but to an extent the intent is the same.
The true problem is the confused role that alcohol plays in both the American and Wisconsin psyches. To truly address the problem of over-consumption, we must openly approach questions like, why do people at this university drink so much? And why do so many people drink to the point where they feel the need to hurt others? The answers to those questions are complicated and beyond the ability for us to explore in this column, but the solution is not. The solution to this problem lies in fundamentally changing our attitudes toward alcohol — or, put another way, education.
This city and this university do not need another ineffective restriction in the form of the ALDP in an attempt to solve a fundamentally larger problem. What we need are real solutions to this complex situation. Prevention and preemption is important, but so is rehabilitation. By attacking this issue from all sides and using well thought-out and pointed approaches, we can begin to make headway into this fundamentally important issue.
Anna R. Smith ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in communicative disorders. She is also a member of the UW College Democrats.
