MADISON, Wis. — On Saturday several blocks of Mifflin Street were closed off and crowded with college students as they made their way to the annual Mifflin Street Block Party.
The block party is held annually by students on the last Saturday of April as a celebration before final exams.
Police said this year was the biggest year for the annual block party since the pandemic.
Mike Hanson is the Madison Police Central District Captain said safety was the number one goal during Saturday’s block party.
“We are looking for behaviors, safety issues, anything that draws our attention so our advice to people is, if you are coming to this event, have fun, be safe and don’t draw attention to yourself,” said Hanson.
In 2022, three people were injured when a porch collapsed during the Mifflin Street Block Party. More than 80 people were arrested this year, mainly for underage drinking, according to the City of Madison. A car was also flipped on Saturday and another porch partially collapsed, but there were no injuries.
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Hanson said the Madison Police Department has been covering the Mifflin Street Block Party for the past 55 years.
Throughout that time, he said they have developed a crowd control method called the Madison Method, which includes:
- Protecting community members’ constitutional rights to assemble, petition the government and engage in free speech
- Being impartial and remaining neutral regarding the issue
- Maintaining open dialogue with community members and the news media before, during and after demonstrations
- Monitoring demonstrations and marches to protect individual rights and ensure public safety
- Balancing the rights of demonstrators with the rights of the community at large
- Using restraint in the use of force and protecting people first and property second
“We will have close to 200 officers working this event in some capacity and we want to show our presence so there is safety, but we want to build relations with people that come up to us,” said Hanson.
Erik Van Dyke is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He said he and his friends come to the Mifflin Street Block Party every year, but this year was a little different.
“We haven’t experienced this yet, having a house on Mifflin,” said Van Dyke. “It is crazy having a house here. We will see how it goes today.”
John Podlesnik is a senior at UW-Madison. He is also one of Van Dyke’s best friends and roommates.
He said for him and his friends, the Mifflin Street Block Party is one of the last chances they will get to celebrate college life with their friends.
“It is a last hurrah. We all just want to celebrate, have a good time and then that will be it and then we graduate,” said Podlesnik.
Hanson said he and his officers are glad they could create a safe environment for students and he asked that students do their part by being respectful.
“Doing foolish activities, getting in fights, disturbances, property damage, open containers,” said Hanson. “Just don’t draw attention to yourself because there are over 10,000 people and about 200 officers.”