Charging admission and fencing off the street for the Halloween party near the University of Wisconsin-Madison helped make the event safer for participants and police, city and university officials said.
The city of Madison, Wis., charged $5 for admission to Saturday's Freakfest 2006 on State Street. The city expected 80,000 partygoers, but about 35,000 people actually bought tickets to enter the six-city-block area of the party, according to police reports.
Athens City Council had considered erecting some sort of barrier around Court Street for Halloween this year, but chose to discuss the idea more before possibly implementing it.
The notable thing this year was that no pepper spray or (police wearing riot) gear was needed to clear the streets. By the time the bars let out at 2 a.m.
most of the crowd was already gone university spokesperson John Lucas said. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has 7,000 students living in the residence halls and 40,000 living off-campus, Lucas said.
Students had mixed opinions about the new restrictions. I was kind of turned off by the idea of paying to get onto State Street. Five dollars just to walk around seemed pointless to me said Danielle Vevea, a sophomore at the University Wisconsin-Madison who did not attend Freakfest 2006.
Kevin McDonnell, also a sophomore at the university, did buy a ticket, and called it a different
more controlled experience because partygoers had to plan ahead. He was also attracted by the bands playing inside the area, a feature new to the Wisconsin party this year but a standard occurrence at Ohio University.
I thought it was horrible
said University Wisconsin-Madison sophomore Duane Gacey. It was just a bunch of drunk people from out-of-state throwing things.
More than 350 law enforcement officers were on duty on State Street and the surrounding neighborhoods, according to police reports. The reports also noted the most significant arrest was a felony charge for battery to a police officer Saturday night.
The cover charge brought in about $150,000 gross, said the mayor's communications director, George Twigg. Last year, extra law enforcement and safety measures for the Halloween street party cost taxpayers $600,000. The event is considered a spontaneous gathering and is unsponsored by the city or the university.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison did not allow guests in residence halls for the second year, using university police to help enforce the rule, Lucas said.
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Rebecca Black
