the wrong side of the bed
Thursday, October 28, 2004
reaching out to the kids
an email i got from the dean of students:
Dear UW-Madison student,
Halloween is now only days away! As you've been dreaming up and designing that knock-'em-off-their-feet costume, the city of Madison has spent months planning for a safe, fun and problem-free All Hallow's Eve celebration on Saturday, Oct. 30.
But we need your help. You can help ensure that this year's Halloween
yields both wonderful memories and safe revelry for everyone by keeping in mind the following:
--Ensure that your friends do not overconsume alcohol or other drugs
--Always obtain clear consent from potential sex partners before romancing them
--Refrain from participating in or escalating any potential ruckus or fray
--Look out for your friends and help them stay out of trouble
--Choose a creative costume that does not denigrate the racial, ethnic or cultural heritage of others
--Cooperate with law enforcement officials or members of the Dean of
Students staff who will be patrolling State Street and the adjacent blocks
okay, i think it is great that they sent out this notice to students. i mean, i typically go on a pre-halloween rant in my sections. i find halloween in madison to be pretty fricking scary. i have seen people on state street walking around bloodied on normal weekends. holidays just send these kids over the edge. and one year a student of mine was violently gang raped at a halloween party. which freaks me out. i don't like to think about my students being hurt by one another. i just don't know how useful this message is going to be with phrases like "Refrain from participating in or escalating any potential ruckus or fray" and "Always obtain clear consent from potential sex partners before romancing them." romancing them? what? as if people were going to be coercing each other into lobster dinners at two in the morning on october 31st.
Dear UW-Madison student,
Halloween is now only days away! As you've been dreaming up and designing that knock-'em-off-their-feet costume, the city of Madison has spent months planning for a safe, fun and problem-free All Hallow's Eve celebration on Saturday, Oct. 30.
But we need your help. You can help ensure that this year's Halloween
yields both wonderful memories and safe revelry for everyone by keeping in mind the following:
--Ensure that your friends do not overconsume alcohol or other drugs
--Always obtain clear consent from potential sex partners before romancing them
--Refrain from participating in or escalating any potential ruckus or fray
--Look out for your friends and help them stay out of trouble
--Choose a creative costume that does not denigrate the racial, ethnic or cultural heritage of others
--Cooperate with law enforcement officials or members of the Dean of
Students staff who will be patrolling State Street and the adjacent blocks
okay, i think it is great that they sent out this notice to students. i mean, i typically go on a pre-halloween rant in my sections. i find halloween in madison to be pretty fricking scary. i have seen people on state street walking around bloodied on normal weekends. holidays just send these kids over the edge. and one year a student of mine was violently gang raped at a halloween party. which freaks me out. i don't like to think about my students being hurt by one another. i just don't know how useful this message is going to be with phrases like "Refrain from participating in or escalating any potential ruckus or fray" and "Always obtain clear consent from potential sex partners before romancing them." romancing them? what? as if people were going to be coercing each other into lobster dinners at two in the morning on october 31st.
7:01 AM
2 Comments:
When they say you should make sure your friends don't "overconsume alcohol or other drugs," do they mean that it's ok for you to overconsume alcohol or other drugs yourself? Or that it's ok for your friends to consume small quantities of coke, heroin, LSD, crystal meth, or whatever other hardcore drugs are lying around, so long as they don't consume too much?
it's hard to say, really. um.... maybe you should just use your best judgement?
