With all of the recent news about the city of Chapel Hill looking to scale down the Franklin Street Halloween extravaganza, I think it is time for the city of Raleigh to step up to bat and make Halloween something that the whole town can enjoy.

N.C. State has been sitting on Hillsborough Street in some form or fashion for the last 121 years, so it should be pretty obvious by now that the University isn’t going anywhere. And by proxy, neither are the students.

We are not all hooligans, but we do like to occasionally have fun. Oct. 31 just happens to be one of the days we are looking to party, albeit safely, and no one seems to be supporting the decision to be responsible. Let me present two scenarios for review, each about as likely as the other.

First, let’s picture the Haunted Hillsborough Hike going as currently planned, without shutting down the street. The Raleigh police are planning on acting as crowd controllers, with the aim of keeping all of the party-goers on the sidewalk, presumably by asking nicely. Yeah, good luck with that.

Now, Hillsborough Street is not an easy road to cross at high noon on a Tuesday, much less nearing midnight on the Friday eve of Halloween. And so we have our situation, cars speeding along, around 10,000 people, and inevitably alcohol. Not only do I envision intoxicated individuals stepping out into a busy road and getting hit, but I can also see sober students crossing the street at a crosswalk and getting hit by a drunk driver who decided to ignore the stoplight. Doesn’t this seem like an equation for disaster too anyone else?

But what about our second scenario? We are again on Hillsborough Street on the night of Halloween, but this time the asphalt is demure instead of dangerous. People mill between campus and the adjacent businesses, and since there will be nowhere to park on the barricaded road, the individuals who would have normally driven will be more likely to take a taxi. This reduces the likelihood of drunk students driving on the road along with all the other drunk people at 2 a.m.

The other great thing about closing the road is that local bands could be hired to play in the street, giving people under the drinking age and local families a reason to come out and enjoy the evening.

The State version of Halloween isn’t aiming to end up like Franklin Street. I’ve been there, and to be honest, after the first year, I saw it for what it was: a crowded mass of drunken idiots with nowhere else to go. It would be nearly impossible to get served in a bar in under thirty minutes there on Halloween, and if you can’t drink there is really no reason to go. But that atmosphere isn’t what we are trying to create on Hillsborough Street.

So, I’m asking the City of Raleigh nicely, as have my compatriots, to please let the RPD shut down the road. If we make a mess of the situation, don’t do it again next year, and the lesson will be learned. But at least give us the chance to exhibit responsible behavior and regard to safety, because honestly, that’s all we are trying to gain.

E-mail Catie your thoughts on the Haunted Hillsborough Hike to letters@technicianonline.com.