Entries for May 03, 2007

Three days before the Mifflin Street Block Party, students, residents, and law enforcement officials met up to voice concerns over the University of Wisconsin's annual off-campus, all-day boozefest the Daily Cardinal reports.

Police laid out ground rules for party-holders: Do not charge for beer, do not allow underage students to drink, and know everyone at your party. "Only in Madison do we tell you how to avoid arrests," said Madison Police Department Sgt. Dave McCaw.

Interestingly enough, this "spring drunkfest" started out as a protest of the Vietnam War in 1969, the Cardinal says. Activism eventually took a back seat to alcohol and raucousness, which reached a fever pitch in 1996 when the partyers lit bonfires and threw bottles at police, sparking an enforcement backlash.

The pre-party meetings were in response to that riot, and now primary concerns revolve around alcohol and noise violations--and fines that can end up costing thousands of dollars.--Alison Go

If anyone was wondering where youth activism went, Penn State reminds us what students really care about: football. When the athletic department announced Tuesday that it was changing its ticket sales policy to an online lottery instead of the traditional first-come, first-served basis, students flooded message boards to complain. Less than a day later, more than 6,000 students joined the Facebook group "Students against the athletic ticket lottery," which encouraged members to attend a Thursday protest.

In an incredible about-face, the Man (aka university administrators) soon gave in and reversed his ticket policy decision, the Daily Collegian reports.So the protest has turned into a thank-you rally to celebrate the populist victory. David: 1, Goliath: 0, Joe Paterno: 363.--A.G.

• Danny Glover, the actor best known for his portrayal of Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon series, said he would not appear as UC-Berkeley's commencement speaker unless the school resolves its conflict with workers seeking higher wages, the Daily Californian reports.
• Police plan to crack down on Notre Dame's annual naked man "Bun Run," and students, or at least one student, are not happy about it, the Observer reports. Senior Conor McEvily concedes the tradition is childish and risqué but maintains that it's ultimately entertaining. "Run fast, boys," he advises. "Run fast."
• The Daily Illini wonders whether the library reference desk is becoming obsolete. As long as Wikipedia can't be used as a source, then the answer is probably no.