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Police Dole Out $80K In Fines To Mifflin Street Party Hosts

Students Call Fines 'Ridiculous'

Posted: 5:08 pm CDT May 9,2005Updated: 5:57 pm CDT May 9,2005

Police have distributed fines for the Mifflin Street block party, and one house alone racked up $19,000 in tickets, News 3 reported.

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Despite getting information leading up to the event, some students told News 3 they would have liked even more warning from police.

So far police have handed out $80,000 in fines for this year's party. The Madison Common Council recently hiked fines for these offenses making the bills much larger.

Police handed out many tickets Sunday -- most for underage drinking, serving alcohol to minors and serving without a license. Those hit with big fines include:

  • 448 W. Mifflin St., Apt. 1 faces $6,300 in fines.
  • 454 W. Mifflin, Apt. 2, faces $10,380
  • 450 W. Mifflin faces $19,320

      SURVEY
    Are police treating Mifflin Street partiers fairly?
    UW Senior Nancy Kazmierski is one of seven who lives in fined apartments -- her cut is $2,700. She told News 3 she thinks it's ridiculous.

    "I walked in the house, and two of my roommates were standing there with not-so-happy faces, and four cops were in there -- and laying all these tickets out on the counters," Kazmierski said.

    Kazmierski said she has no idea how she will pay the fine.

    "Are you kidding me? I can't pay that out of my pocket right now," she said. "I pay for my own school. I pay for my own rent. It's hard to save money when you're in college," she said.

    Police said more fines mean less drinking, and they believe if they can curb the alcohol, they will stop late-night violence.

    "If we can start eliminating problems early on it only makes our job easier," said Mike Hanson of MPD.

    UW Senior Nancy Kazmierski
    Police wrote the tickets April 30. Kazmierski said police should have told students on the day of the party.

    "We said we'd comply," she said. "We said that if anything was going wrong, 'Come let us know. We'll stop our party. It is not a problem,'" said.

    Hanson said students should have known.

    "There can't be a lot of sympathy for students that ignored our warning and also chose to charge $5 for a cup," Hanson said.

    Hosts told News 3 they weren't making money on the parties -- just enough to cover the band.

    Prior to the party, police went door-to-door on Mifflin Street handing out pamphlets and had an informational meeting.

    Police may be delivering even more tickets for partygoers.

  • Some students have launched a web site to raise support for students who now face fines: mifflinstreetblockpartyabuse.com.

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