Here we go again!

Published on 10/15/2001 Daily Egyptian (SIUC)

Last year, I was a big supporter of bringing back Halloween. And the University did. And promptly took it away again. We got what deserved, but now Chancellor Walter V. Wendler is giving it back again. Call me a pessimist, but I feel another disaster coming on.

Last year, as the merits of bringing back Halloween were debated, I argued that it should be based on the idea that we were all adults, and could conduct ourselves accordingly. I argued that we could have a little fun without requiring the use of teargas and police in riot gear.

Boy, did I have egg on my face before the first night was over.

I was on the strip as a media observer. I was there watching when the sign came down off of La Bambas and Jimmy Johns sign was destroyed. I watched as people climbed the tree in front of La Bambas and tore it down, literally. I saw the fights and the fires in the street. I saw the rocks and bottles flying. I was there when some moron tried to start a fire in the tree in front of Old Town Liquors. I was there the next morning watching city crews try to clean up the mess left from the night before.

We got a second chance, and we blew it.

Now granted, there were a lot of outsiders who showed up on the train that afternoon and left the next day. In fact, the majority of the arrests made that weekend were not University students.

But enough were. Moreover, the most significant damage - the restaurant signs and Jimmy Johns windows - was caused by University students.

Long before the weekend arrived, people were already planning destruction. I overheard people talking about rioting, about it being their "right" and their "heritage," and an "SIUC tradition," as if it were some kind of obligation.

People were outraged when the police reacted with pepper spray and teargas. How dare they? Frankly, sitting at ground zero, I thought the police showed remarkable restraint.

More outrage was expressed when police later started enforcing city ordinances prohibiting people from gathering in the street after the bars closed. I covered the first night of that policy as a reporter, and I had to report it dispassionately and objectively. Had anyone asked my opinion, I would have said, "Good deal."
What did we expect? "Sorry guys, our bad!" and it all goes away?

Now Chancellor Wendler has announced this fall break will be the last. His reasoning is sound. We're here to get an education, and it does make little sense to have two breaks in one semester. Frankly, when they cut back on Thanksgiving break to increase the fall break, I was a little pissed.

Frankly, as a veteran, it has pissed me off since I've been here that I do not get Veteran's Day off. Too many days off already with the fall break. I have a lot fellow veterans at the University who were similarly outraged. We do not take a day off to honor those that have served their country because we take a long weekend to "commemorate" those that feel they need to destroy the strip to have a good time.

Chancellor Wendler plans to work with the city to come up with a plan to have a peaceful Halloween without closing the University. Good luck guys. I hope it turns out better than last year.

Here's a suggestion for the chief of police and the city, skip the teargas. Here's a trick I learned in the Navy: use fire hoses instead. Not only will they disperse a crowd, they'll clean the trash off the streets at the same time.