The cancellation of Halloween street parties in Carbondale, home of Southern Illinois University, might leave the city a ghost town during this year’s Halloween weekend.

SIU is nationally known for celebrations connected with Halloween weekend, but Carbondale has repealed city ordinances allowing public consumption of alcohol and street parties during the last weekend in October.

“Rowdyism escalated each year to the point where party-goers and spectators alike were being put in danger of serious physical injury from a variety of circumstances, including the throwing of full beverage cans and other objects,” said SIU President John Guyon.

The feelings of SIU students toward the repeal of the ordinances have been “basically mixed” said Lisa Miller, a reporter for SIU’s newspaper, The Daily Egyptian.

On Sept. 5, the Carbondale City Council repealed the Halloween Fair Days Ordinances. These ordinances allowed public consumption of alcohol, amplified music and also closed two downtown streets, South Illinois Avenue, known as “the strip,” and Grand Avenue. Food and beer boothes were allowed on Grand Avenue in past years.

Jeff Doherty, deputy city manager of Carbondale, said any visitors this year will find it “very difficult not to notice the police.”

City officials also said, “We want it to be clearly understood that Carbondale will not tolerate widespread public consumption of alcohol or underage drinking which has characterized past Halloween celebrations.”

There were 120 underage drinking arrests over the two_night Halloween period in 1988, according to Doherty.

The Halloween Core Committee, which included SIU administrators, student representatives, Carbondale’s police chief, members of the chamber of commerce and other city residents was formed to administer Halloween Fair Days Regulations.

Those in favor of repealing the regulations included Guyon, Carbondale Mayor Neil Dillard and the core committee.

“We want it to be clearly understood that Carbondale will not tolerate widespread public consumption of alcohol or underage drinking…”

City officials