Like most Madisonians and veterans of Mifflins past, I read with dismay the news that two partygoers were stabbed – leading to “multiple life-threatening injuries” requiring emergency surgery in one case – at this year’s celebration. Equally disturbing is that three police officers were injured – including a female officer who was punched in the face when she tried to stop a reveler – and that four times as many partygoers ended up in detox as compared to last year.
Not surprisingly, Mayor Paul Soglin and other city leaders want to see Mifflin come to an end. It may seem hypocritical – in a city that often seems built around a culture of drinking, where bars and breweries sponsor everything from ultimate Frisbee and roller derby to the Madison Marathon – to ban a celebration because too many people are getting too drunk. And perhaps it is unfair those thousands of people who managed to have peaceful fun at Mifflin might not get to party next year because of the few who couldn’t handle it.
Is it worth it? That’s the question we have to ask ourselves, not just about Mifflin, but our alcohol culture in general. After all, as an event dedicated almost solely to drinking, the controversy over Mifflin mirrors larger debates over drinking on this campus and in Wisconsin in general.
On one hand, drinking comes with terrific societal costs. In 2008, 1,624 Wisconsinites died, 4,319 were injured and 94,000 arrested as a direct result of drinking. The annual cost of alcohol-related problems, including criminal justice and health care costs, has been estimated to be as high as $184.6 billion per year nationwide.
On the other hand, drinking is a significant part of the culture of Wisconsin and of Madison. In our city alone there are three breweries and few public events that don’t prominently feature alcohol. From Badger games and evenings at the Terrace to concerts on the Square and Orton Park Fest, alcohol is firmly embedded in the Madison way of life. Drinking together is clearly an important part of our culture and how we build community in this state, in this city and at this school.
Perhaps because of this culture, we tolerate painfully high costs of drinking in Wisconsin, including an OWI arrest rate 1.5 times that of the U.S., and a rate of alcohol-related motor fatalities that, until 2008, has been consistently higher than the national average. We have also been reluctant to hold accountable those who break consumption laws, as was made clear by the case of Rep. Jeff Wood last year.
There is no perfectly safe amount of alcohol a person can drink; but we recognize, up to a certain point, the social benefit and enjoyment outweighs the risks. We also understand, on occasion, many people who choose to drink will cross that line. We count on pressure from friends, the law and the inevitable hangover to keep that from happening too often. But we all know friends who won’t or don’t learn from those mistakes, and we should encourage them to get help and refuse to drink with them.
Mifflin Street may have become one of those friends. Though this is the first time in recent memory a partygoer was nearly murdered, it is not the first time the party has ended in violence and hospitalizations. It’s not an “oops, this won’t happen again” moment, but only the latest instance in which mass intoxication has led to needless injury.
Does this mean the city should end the tradition? Perhaps. A massive block party whose point is to drink for the sake of drinking is no longer a defensible option. If another focus for the party can be found that makes alcohol a part of the celebration, as opposed to the focus of the celebration, that should be considered. However after this year’s debacle, the burden will be on us to convince city leaders and the community at large that we can drink responsibly.
Geoff Jara-Almonte ([email protected]) is a fourth-year medical student going into emergency medicine.
