The date is May 5, 2012. Where will you be, a Cinco de Mayo party? No way! This year, the Mifflin Block Party falls on the same day as America’s favorite Mexican holiday, creating the perfect storm for the party of the year. However, due to last year’s violent events, committees are working together to create a safer environment for students. According to Peggy LaHahieu, a member of the Mifflin Neighborhood Association, students need to stop thinking of the end of the year block party as a “drunk fest.”
Pretty much any weekend in Madison can be considered a “drunk fest,” but to cut down, residents are pushing for a small-scale block party, which will only allow students from the University of Wisconsin and Madison Area Technical College. Let’s be honest. How do they expect to keep tabs on that with thousands of college students coming in from all over the country for one of the biggest college parties of the year? I mean, there could be a checkpoint where everyone has to check in with their student ID, but that still will not stop people from attempting to sneak in.
When there is a will, there is a way, and when alcohol is involved, any way seems like a good idea. If authorities try to weed out non-students, I think it would just lead to more problems and potentially an increase in violence from last year, as police will focus part of their attention on the entrance and not be able to patrol the block as vigilantly. Also, students from other universities will most likely be very upset if they are denied and if they are under the influence will act out without thinking.
Mifflin is a well-established end-of-the-year party and something everyone looks forward to. It is a kind of last hurrah before finals week and gives students a reason to see friends from other colleges. After hearing stories from both my mother and father about their college days in the age of “Animal House,” Mifflin pales in contrast. To me, it is no different than unofficial St. Patrick’s Day at the University of Illinois and Little 500 at Indiana University, which can both be considered “drunk fests” but still occur each year without as much resistance as Mifflin currently faces.
If one does not get overly intoxicated and remembers their Mifflin, it is a birthplace of memories. I remember my first Mifflin – it was one of those sun’s guns out kind of days in May. The girls were dressed in their finest summer attire, and almost-perfect soon became perfect when I was handed an icy cold beverage. It sure did hit the spot, and with the exception of anxiously waiting in line to use the port-a-potties, I felt great the whole day. And hey, I even made some friends along the way that I am still in touch with today.
There is one last thing I would like to say to the Mifflin Neighborhood Association. No matter the sanctions imposed on this year’s Mifflin, we will all be there to bask in the hot May sun and enjoy arguably the greatest collegiate party in the nation. Here at Wisconsin, we fight through adversity and, quite bluntly, we love beer. So, let us all stand together, students of Wisconsin, and all across the nation. Let us occupy Mifflin May 5, 2012, cheer to the human spirit and let our war cry ring from the hilltops across this great state. On Wisconsin!
Hayes Cascia ([email protected]) is a freshman with an undeclared major.
