$1000 for 1000 words contest: ‘Getting our generation to vote’ winning essay OPINION
l
PAGE 7
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2ND MICHIGAN TRIP YIELDS SAME RESULTS UW alone in Big Ten cellar after blowing another fourth-quarter lead to Spartans SPORTS Complete campus coverage since 1892
l
dailycardinal.com
l
PAGE 12
Monday, November 3, 2008
Fewer arrests, larger crowds at Freakfest ’08 By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL
With a lower number of arrests and increased ticket sales at Freakfest 2008 Saturday, police are hailing the event as a “hat trick”—the third successful Halloween celebration in a row since the city began gating off State Street and charging admission to the event. The Madison Police Department reported 77 arrests as of 2:45 a.m. Saturday—a significant decrease from the 126 arrests made at Freakfest 2007. MPD public information officer Joel DeSpain said there were a few fights, but most arrests were for minor offenses such as open intoxicants and underage drinking. “The crowd overall was very well behaved [and] people had a great time. There were a couple of incidents but nothing really serious, no property damage,” DeSpain said. “We’ve had three successful Freakfests in a row and were very pleased with the way it went.” DeSpain also said there were several small house parties reported in the downtown area, including a larger party a good distance away from Freakfest on Mound Street. The regional draw of Freakfest brought a number of area law enforcement agencies together to police the event. Officers from the
Halloween arrests by the numbers
2008 Friday: 56 arrests Saturday: 77 2007 Friday: 55 Saturday: 126 2006 Friday: 87 Saturday: 148 Check out Page 6 for photos from Saturday on State Street. MPD, Wisconsin State Patrol, the Dane County Sheriff’s Department, the University of Wisconsin Police Department, Capitol Police, the Fitchburg Police Department, the Sun Prairie Police Department and RTM Security were all on hand to patrol the crowds. Ticket sales for this year’s event also increased from Freakfest 2007 with an estimated 38,300 sold in 2008 compared to 34,000 attendees last year, despite a hike in ticket prices. Attendees paid $7 for advance tickets and $10 the day of Freakfest, up from the $5 advance price and $7 day of charge in 2007. Among the thousands of Freakfest
LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
The Madison Police Department, along with several other local law enforcement agencies, policed the Freakfest 2008 event on State Street Saturday, where a total of 77 partygoers were arrested. partygoers was Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who observed the crowd while walking down State Street in everyday attire. “I came as the mayor,” Cieslewicz joked. “It seems like [the crowd] is in a good mood. It seems like people are having a good time and I don’t see any pushing or shoving or anybody being rude. I think it’s going to work out fine.” UW-Madison sophomore Katherine Biskupic said she was enjoying her second year at Freakfest even more than the first because she knew what to expect from the event. “I think it’s so fun if it’s all in moderation, but some people overdo it,” Biskupic said. “It’s been pretty tame
Many challenges for next president By Nico Savidge THE DAILY CARDINAL
On Jan. 20, 2009, either Republican presidential candidate John McCain or Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will take an oath of office and be sworn in as President of the United States. On Jan. 21, one of those two men will sit down behind their new desk inside the Oval Office and begin their fouryear term leading the nation. No matter how the elec-
toral vote turns out Tuesday night, regardless of which states turn blue or red or even who is elected, the next president will face a daunting list of challenges to tackle in their administrations. The winner of this election must handle an economy stuck in global financial crisis, an army fighting two increasingly
JOANNA MOONEY/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Thousands celebrate on Halloween Although Friday may not have been the night of the city-sanctioned Freakfest event, it was the actual Halloween holiday, and thousands of partygoers still made their way downtown to celebrate. The Madison Police Department estimated that a crowd of 10,000 partied on State Street Friday night. As of 2:41 a.m., police had arrested 56 people, mostly for alcohol violations and disorderly conduct. Arrest numbers were consistent with those from the Friday before Freakfest in 2007, when 55 people were arrested. Police said the crowd was relatively calm for the most part, but a few incidents did occur. While making an arrest outside of a bar on State Street, two Wisconsin State Troopers suffered minor injuries in a scuffle. Police said one partygoer was taken to a local hospital after falling off a secondstory roof on University Avenue. Several private house parties were reported in the downtown area, but according to police the majority were small gatherings and did not pose any significant problems.
Sixty-day incident log now available on UWPD website By Amanda Hoffstrom THE DAILY CARDINAL
unpopular wars and the looming threat of climate change, to name just a few of the issues that will confront the 44th president. According to three UW-Madison professors, the crisis affecting the world economy will be the most immediate problem. “It is going to really control what they do for probably the first six months or a year in office,” UWMadison political science professor Barry Burden s a i d . “Whether it’s the financial bailout, the up and down of Wall challenges page 4
Federal law requires universities to have 60 days of crime data available for public view during business hours, but a new online incident log from the University of Wisconsin Police Department aims to make UW-Madison’s data more accessible. According to UWPD Capt. Karen Soley, who worked on implementing a web version for about 18 months, the log was placed on the UWPD website in mid-October. It lists every case number university police have generated within the last 60 days. Prior to the online version,
a daily crime log was available upon request weekdays in the UWPD office at 1429 Monroe St. Soley said the online crime log will also be updated weekdays. Soley said a key difference between the hard copy and the online log is the addition of a status column, which lists whether a case is open, complete or if no further action will be taken. If a case is listed as open, it means UWPD records personnel have not yet entered possible updates from police reports. “[The] goal is just to make it easier for people who want to know what’s currently happening on campus, at least take a look [at crime log page 4
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”