In a decision that has left many students feeling angry and disaffected, the route for the annual homecoming parade has been moved from Water Street to First Avenue. While the parade ran along First Avenue before, as recently as 1999, the Water Street route is all most current students at UW-Eau Claire have ever known.
It was decided that the move was a way to increase space and prevent undesirable student behavior that occurred in the past year. Last year a student riot that included bottles being thrown, occurred on Water Street after the parade had ended. The theory is that Water Street (and its plethora of bars) encourages alcohol to be a part of the parade festivities. The move away from Water Street is supposed to be a simultaneous move away from student drinking, as well as to improve safety conditions.
| The issue: Homecoming parade route changed |
There are several problems with this theory. It is evident in university celebrations around the nation that alcohol consumption will occur at events such as these. UW-Madison’s annual Halloween party and Mifflin Block Party, as well as Drake University’s Drake Relays are prime examples. The university needs to come to terms with this inevitable fact, much like Madison and Drake have, and work from there to provide a safe environment for the celebration to occur.
Yet, when it comes to safety, the move to First Avenue may not be an optimal one. The house parties that will inevitably occur along First Avenue will likely not be considering Fire Marshal codes and regulations when they invite people onto their property. The bars on Water Street, in an effort to avoid fines and penalties, will.
The route change also does very little to combat the original motivation for such a change. Last year’s riots occurred in a residential area of Water Street, blocks away from the bars. First Avenue, with college houses running along one side of the street, is not unlike the area where these riots occurred. Nothing can be supported in saying that the same events from last year are not equally as likely to be recreated on First Avenue.
For this reason, it is unnecessary for the university to conflict with the desires of the students.
