News never breaks twice, but one news story can lead to another. With journalistic insight, I have to say we are two weeks away from seeing this happen. The reason? The Mifflin Street Block Party.
Quickly, for those who missed the news, Mifflin has been “cancelled” for this 2013 year. (I use quotations because no permit has been acquired for the party, so in principle no party can be cancelled.) This obviously ignites Madisonian hysteria.
Age aside, telling someone they can’t do something makes them want to do it even more – not to mention Mifflin has been going strong for more than forty years, dancing back and forth between being a protest and expression of humanitarian energy. Moreover, Americans are naturally rebellious – University of Wisconsin students, even more so.
I am going to confess now – I have never attended Mifflin, nor do I plan to attend it this year. Despite all the off-putting stories I’ve heard about it, the pictures I’ve seen and the news reports I have read, I still believe Mifflin is meant to prevail.
Let me address some of the concerns about Mifflin and reasons that Mifflin is supposed to be nonexistent this year. In previous years, police have made more than 350 arrests during Mifflin.
After speaking with Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain, I learned the terminology surrounding Mifflin is often used to spin the news. DeSpain responded, “The number of people actually arrested and jailed is small.”
It seems that the verbiage the city uses is actually misleading – perhaps the city intentionally inflates crime statistics in order to extinguish the life of Mifflin. DeSpain went on to say, “Most are given citations.”
When using correct terminology, the results of the Mifflin Block Party appear insubstantial. Yes, a few major crimes have occured, but this is no different than any other day. The way I see it is like this:
If you’re concerned about the safety of those who attend Mifflin, announcing the possible consequences does little to sway a person’s decision to attend. With the history and life of Mifflin – I can’t stress this enough – people know what they are getting themselves into.
If I may make myself even more vulnerable, three more points are worth noting.
First, the block party gives students a story to share; one that not only goes down in the books of those who attend, but in the history of Madison as well. All benefits and consequences aside, Mifflin is a noteworthy event, an experience to share and oftentimes an experience from which to learn.
Secondly, Mifflin gives the Madison police work to do. After all, they are going to patrol the streets anyway! According to the Wisconsin State Journal, “While parties may still happen and students may still tilt back some cold ones, police promised they will patrol the area in force.” If they are going to be putting this much effort into it, why not monitor Mifflin instead of preventing it?
With that, I want to give a shout out to Madison police for their excellent work year round. Without Mifflin, or more importantly, even with Mifflin, Madison consistently ranks as a top community in which to live, work, play and raise a family. If I may go out on a limb, without Mifflin, we may lose the category of “play.”
Lastly, the removal of one event, Mifflin in particular, leaves that space open for something new – and possibly even more raunchy – to occur. As the saying goes, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.
Ending on a personal note, all my life I have been amazed at how so many people can partake in such “negative” activities and yet still excel in life. Being forward, I’d like to be continuously amazed.
Drink Wisconsibly.
Garth Beyer ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in jounalism.
