The city of Carbondale has solved its Halloween problem. There was no riot. There were no overturned cars. There was no Mace sprayed nor windows broken. From this moment on, the city of Carbondale no longer has a Halloween problem.

Yes, there were plenty of arrests made mostly alcohol violations, some indecent exposures and some for violent action. However, underage individuals will always drink, people will continue to find it appropriate to expose themselves, and bar fights do occur, especially in bars. These things happen regardless of what time of year it is.

The fact is, Carbondale has solved its Halloween problem, and you can tell your friends I said so. As a matter of fact, I suggest we do just that. I suggest we tell our friends, our families, our future employers and everyone else we know people who undoubtedly possess a negative image of this University and the city that we have taken care of past ills, and that there is no longer a need to view SIUC as a modern day Babylon. We need to be aware that it’s going to take a significant amount of yelling about it before we can even begin to undo the considerable amount of damage that has been done to this University’s collective image by years of negative and oftentimes distorted media analysis.

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I’m not saying this place is perfect, or all of the attention is unjustifiable. SIUC students can be an unruly group of individuals, especially while intoxicated. However, I’m fairly confident that the same can be said for U of I students, EIU students, ISU students or any other group of college-age individuals attending a state university. However, the Illinois universities just listed aren’t known as party schools, thus their student body is relatively secure from having to deal with the sneers and snide remarks when it comes time to disclose their alma mater to potential employers.

Oh, you’re from SIU; thus you’re obviously an alcoholic, heathenized, bastard.

This is akin to saying,

You’re from Hollywood, thus you’re obviously a prima donna, silicone-enhanced bimbo actress, or

You’re from Mississippi, thus you’re obviously a white trash, racist, red neck.

Yes, a great deal of SIUC students drink, quite heavily at times. Some of these students will leave the school and spend the rest of their lives battling alcoholism. However, the vast majority of these people will graduate, get jobs, grow up and get on with their lives. Eventually, there will come a time when it won’t be socially acceptable to funnel large quantities of cheap domestic beer down one’s throat via a plastic tube while dressed as a dairy cow. Most people do know when it’s time to grow up. One’s behavior while in college can be significantly altered when it comes times to enter the real world, whether or not that individual comes from a supposed party school.

So, the next time people roll their eyes when you tell them what school you attend, politely inform them:Yes, SIUC used to be known as a party school with a bad Halloween situation. However, through the efforts of numerous students, citizens and community leaders, we no longer have that scenario. We’re just a quality state university that can take care of its own problems, and we would appreciate if everyone, especially the local, state and even national media, would stop referring to us as the school with the annual Halloween riots.’

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Because there were no riots, we also would be quite appreciative if you would kindly cram your past year’s riot footage someplace where it won’t see any air time. After all, as television news reporters, it’s your job to report the news, not history, which is exactly what our Halloween problem is. History.

And that is the message that needs to be told. Halloween problem? What Halloween problem?