Mingling with the college crowd in front of the Marrakesh Cafe, Erin Philbrook, a sophomore at Wake Tech, joins Taylor Griggs, Zach Buck, and Grace Farmer, a freshman at Wake Tech. Students from the Raleigh area turned out for the first Haunted Hillsborough Hike. (Photo by Chris Sanchez).
Hike limits may deter crowds
The University is considering restricting access to campus during the Haunted Hillsborough Hike on Halloween, and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Stafford said it would limit the number of outsiders coming to Hillsborough Street.
“If you are planning to drive in to this event, it will be very difficult for you to find a place to park,” he said.
This could cause problems for students who live off campus who want to go to Hillsborough Street to hike, he said.
The University could work with Raleigh police and Campus Police to close down all campus streets, Stafford said, adding checkpoints in which officers will let through only those with N.C. State IDs.
Campus Police Chief Tom Younce said they would be working in collaboration with Raleigh Police, and there will be a zero tolerance policy for student violations.
“Raleigh has taken a very aggressive stance on this,” he said.
Students that commit a violation will be subject to arrest or citation, which will follow students through a campus appearance ticket in the Office of Student Conduct.
Stafford said the University and Raleigh Police are concerned because Franklin Street’s Halloween activities in Chapel Hill are being downgraded this year. Vendors will stop selling alcohol at midnight, and Chapel Hill is looking to keep outsiders from entering the festivities, which drew as many as 80,000 last year.
Some students from other schools have already planned to come to the Halloween activities on Hillsborough Street, but Chris Mitchell, a junior in business administration, said if campus is restricted, they would be less likely to come.
“They’ve heard Franklin Street is not going to [have] as much this year, so they’re coming to Hillsborough Street,” he said. “A lot of the attraction of Franklin Street is probably lost this year.”
But Franklin Street’s decline could mean more students will stick around Hillsborough Street for this year’s Halloween, according to Mitchell.
Raleigh Police does not want the Haunted Hike to get to the level of Franklin Street’s activities, which have been considered unmanageable, according to Stafford.
Police have enforced cut advertising for the Hike, and there will be little promotion of the event other than what comes from the police and the University.
Since plans for containing students and blocking streets have not been finalized, Stafford said they would be announced in a press release later in the week.
Student Body President Jay Dawkins is working with the University and police to plan, and he said ID checkpoints would be good for campus.
“It’s going to create traffic issues, but ultimately it will keep outsiders from adversely affecting various surrounding residence halls and campus buildings,” Dawkins, a junior in civil engineering, said.
While restricting campus could keep nonstudents out, Dawkins said traffic problems will not keep students from coming.
“If you have a valid ID, then basically everything’s the same,” he said. “If you’re a resident of Greenville or some random place in North Carolina and you’re trying to get into our campus, it might be difficult.”
Events like the Hike make Hillsborough Street businesses significant money, which could be affected by the turnout Friday, but Dawkins said the restrictions on events will be helpful.
“[Raleigh Police] are trying to keep it within a reasonable size and keep it under control,” he said. “They see the stuff happening on Franklin Street and are worried the same negative things associated with that event could happen here. They’re working with a lot faith in the business owners and what they’re doing is getting a mixed reception among business owners. If this event is kept at a sustainable level, it could be more beneficial for those businesses longterm.”