OUR OPINION: The Haunted Hike was a success with students and businesses alike.
Thousands of students turned out for the second Haunted Hillsborough Hike, bringing in lots of customers for local businesses.
For the most part, the Hike was a success — safety was not a huge problem, students had a local place to celebrate Halloween and businesses had plenty of customers.
The University should not take any excessive preventative measures for next year’s Haunted Hike. At most, University officials should work to bring in entertainment for underage students at the Hike.
Jay Dawkins, student body president, said the Haunted Hike was bigger, more spread out and well-controlled. From initial accounts, safety was not a huge issue — Campus Police said there were only 20 alcohol violations, two arrests and three citations.
The Haunted Hike was a success, even with the last-minute parking restrictions the University implemented for on-campus lots Thursday — Dawkins said he did not notice any effect on turnout.
If the Haunted Hike isn’t broken, the University does not need to fix it. Students had a reasonable, convenient alternative to the Halloween festivities on Franklin Street and brought plenty of business to local establishments on Hillsborough Street.
What the University needs to do is bring in entertainment and activities, like live entertainment or specials at establishments that do not serve alcohol for students who are under the legal drinking age.
Underage students are limited in their options for the Haunted Hike, particularly if bars and restaurants are only admitting legal drinkers during the event.
Local businesses were the driving force behind the Haunted Hike, but there is only so much they can do to provide entertainment for underage students if they limit admission for safety reasons.
The University is ideally posed to handle this problem.
Restaurants and bars are limited by the amount of space available in the business, liability concerns and agreements with local police. The University can bring in other entertainment for only students in a separate event or work with other establishments to give underage students a place to enjoy the evening.
Hillsborough Street businesses have done their part to draw students in for Halloween. Now the University needs to make sure everyone can have a safe, enjoyable time on Halloween.
