policy memo draft 2 hoyon mephokee

Policy Memo for The Campaign to Promote The Increase in Underage Entertainment Venues on State Street

By Hoyon Mephokee

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Introduction

As an intern on the Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs committee I was required to learn about managing my own campaign, and to run an actual campaign. I wanted to address the issue of lack of underage entertainment options on State Street with the cut-‐issue being a noticeable increase in entertainment options for underage students. This is a problem because the entertainment options, especially those that remain open until late at night, cater almost exclusively to those who are of-‐age. Any survey of entertainment options on State Street will show that after 10pm, the only entertainment venues open are bars, pubs, and alcohol-‐serving venues. This severely restricts entertainment options for underage students and as a result, their campus experience suffers.

Solving this problem is important as:

1) It can yield economic benefits to State Street 2) It can increase the campus experience for underage and of-‐age students 3) It can potentially curb the alcohol culture as fewer students may look towards these

entertainment venues rather than solely to alcohol 4) It has received widespread from students of UW and of other Big 10 schools

This policy paper will cover 3 sections:

Section 1. Background on the Issue Section 2. Campaign Summary Section 3. Reflection and What Could Have Been Done Differently Section 4. Next Steps

Section 1: Background on the Issue

In this section, I review the background on the issue of the lack of underage

entertainment options and the development of my campaign. State Street has always been the center of entertainment for the students of UW-‐

Madison. However, possibly due to the alcohol culture on campus, entertainment is centered on alcohol and alcohol-‐related entertainment. Another ASM intern who used to also sit on the Alcohol License Review Committee addressed this issue in 2013. Although she was successful in the semester, she stopped working on her campaign to focus on other commitments. Upon conducting research and meeting with her, I found out that towards the end of her campaign, she had shifted her focus to the city council’s ‘problem’ with entertainment for two reasons. First, after meeting with student orgs and aldermen she realized that there was a greater issue of entertainment that went beyond the underage group. Second, she felt if she could make city council more open to entertainment on State Street, it would lead to them addressing underage entertainment on their own, as well as other issues pertaining to entertainment. My campaign focuses primarily on increasing underage entertainment options on State Street. Although the past ASM intern who worked on a similar campaign decided to tackle entertainment in general, I feel that it is important

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to focus on underage entertainment options, as it is an issue that is widely felt in the UW community.

A survey conducted in the spring semester of 2013 (see appendix 1) showed that a majority of the UW community saw this as an issue. 91% of survey-‐takers felt that most nighttime entertainment is targeted at those who are 21 and older, and 80% of survey-‐takers were willing to attend 18+ entertainment acts (e.g. a concert) if the tickets were priced $15 and above (20% stated that this price range was too expensive). These survey results point to the fact that there is an issue of lack of underage entertainment options on State Street, and that a majority of the UW community were interested in entertainment targeted towards the 18+ group. The survey also showed that a third of survey-‐takers admitted to using fake IDs to get into a bar, 34% of whom admitted to using fake IDs to purchase alcohol, see an entertainment act, or both. Using these survey results, one can conclude that the alcohol culture on campus and the entertainment options on State Street go hand-‐in-‐hand. Through this campaign not only would I have addressed the issue of the lack of underage entertainment options on State Street, I would have also contributed to efforts to curb the alcohol culture on campus. With greater entertainment options that cater to underage students (thereby catering to of-‐age students as well), students would be able to choose from entertainment options that do not involve alcohol.

Section 2: Campaign Summary In this section, I explain the steps I took within my campaign and what steps I plan to take in the future.

The campaign began with me talking to the past ASM intern to see where she left of and to find out more about her campaign. We talked about her campaign and how she had decided to shift her focus from addressing the lack of underage entertainment to entertainment in general. She also recommended that I contact Aldermen Scott Resnick and Mike Verveer for two reasons. Firstly, she had contacted these two aldermen during her campaign and confirmed that they were supportive of this idea and of prioritizing the student experience at UW. Secondly, both aldermen were members of various relevant committees (Alcohol License Review Committee, Madison’s Central Business Improvement District Board, State Street Design Project Oversight, etc.) The end-‐goal was to have City Council pass legislation that would promote the creation of underage entertainment venues and options that would cater to nighttime State Street-‐goers. Given what I learned about Scott Resnick and Mike Verveer, I felt that they would be instrumental in many ways. Firstly, since both were committed to enhancing the student experience they would be open to my suggestions for measures to combat this issue. Secondly, since both aldermen sat on various relevant committees, if I got the support of their committees, I would ultimately get the support of City Council.

I began drafting ideas and measures I felt would effectively accomplish the following:

1) Provide a greater range of entertainment options for underage members of UW

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2) Provide a greater range of entertainment options that are open until the later hours of the night

3) Provide incentives for said entertainment options and venues to continue operating and catering to underage members of the community

4) Promote economic growth and job creation in downtown madison The following measures is what I came up with in the process of writing my strategy

chart (see appendix 2): -‐ Lowered taxes, subsidies, or economic incentive for business owners to begin

investing in underage entertainment venues -‐ Creating a mandatory minimum days that of-‐age venues accommodate underage

customers -‐ Extending hours that existing underage entertainment venues are open for; this is

optional but economic benefits could be provided to businesses that open for an extra X hours

-‐ Optional creation of an entertainment and culture taskforce that promotes culture and entertainment events such as music, theater, and other arts-‐based events

Steps I took this semester to accomplish these goals were: 1) Contacted student government members from other Big 10 students and asked

them if similar efforts had been conducted in their universities (see appendix 3) 2) Created a petition (see appendix 4) and gave class raps to aggressively raise

awareness of my campaign, as well as to create a volunteer base; a. Students who sign the petition but also want to volunteer their time have the

option of putting down their phone numbers to be contacted in the future 3) Attempted to run a postcard campaign (see appendix 5) to raise awareness, but

decided against it: a. My petition already raised awareness – this would only be redundant b. Postcard campaigns were usually run as a way of sending mass postcards to

decision-‐makers c. The rate at which people responded to postcards was very low

Got a resolution (see appendix 6) passed by the ASM Student Council as a symbol of support from ASM as a student governing body

I am currently setting up meetings with Aldermen Mike Verveer and Scott Resnick but I

don’t see myself meeting with them this semester due to time constraints and other priorities.

I have set goals to accomplish for the Fall 2014 semester: 1) Meet Aldermen Scott Resnick and Mike Verveer to discuss measures

a. I will bring 3 volunteers with me as the presence of other students is a form of student power, and having multiple students’ inputs as to how the issue can be solved

b. I will use the petition and resolution to show support from the general student population

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c. I will use information I collected from student government members of other Big 10 schools to show that this is an issue strongly felt by students

2) Work with Aldermen Scott Resnick and/or Mike Verveer to draft a piece of legislation

a. We will have regular meetings so we can discuss the progress of the legislation

3) Present the piece of legislation to City Council a. I will try to bring 15 students with me to the hearing

Section 3. Reflection and What Could Have Been Done Differently

In this section I reflect upon my progress this semester, and discuss and analyze problems that I faced and suggests how I could have avoided those problems. In the beginning of my campaign, I faced several difficulties. Having never worked on a project of this scale with so many resources to use and so many paths to take, I was overwhelmed at first. My progress in the beginning was slow and not as fruitful as I would have liked because I was still learning about ASM and the university, and because I was still quite unsure of myself. However, as the course progressed and as I took more classes, I felt more confident. As we began learning more about tactics, messaging, relational meetings, and other important tools we could use in our campaign, my understand of my campaign and what steps I had to take became clear to me.

I was unfamiliar with what resources I had at my disposal and this was an obstacle for me because I did not know where to start my research. After a few days of pointless research, I realized that I had an entire office of experienced ASM staff members I could use to help me. I talked to various members of the ASM office who had experience working on legislation-‐related campaigns who pointed me to resources such as the Association of Big Ten Students, and the aforementioned past intern.

Another difficulty that I overcame in the beginning was my lack of confidence. Not

knowing what to do or how to run my campaign made me nervous about approaching authoritative figures for information and for help, especially figures who weren’t from the ASM office. Thankfully, as part of my intern class, I was given an assignment to go out and meet two people to practice conducting relational meetings. I met with Leland Pan and Chris Hoffman, two seniors who were running for the Dane Country Board because both of them had worked on student advocacy before and they were passionate about pushing for opportunities for students. Through this assignment I became more confident about talking to strangers about my campaign and to ask for help when I needed it. I feel that although my campaign progressed slowly, a lot of it was due to me trying to look around to find resources and talk to ASM staff. During the first two months, I was trying to meet people and talk about my campaign in an attempt to learn more about what exactly I had to do and how I should go about my campaign. My strategy chart was completed in this period – doing so helped me understand my campaign better by allowing me to locate my decision makers, constituents, and cut-‐issue, and determining my goals

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and tactics. It was during this time that I felt I had learned the most about ASM and the university and how they work independently and together. Further down the line, as I talked to more people and continued taking the intern classes, it became clear as to how I wanted to work on my campaign, who I wanted to talk to, and what I wanted to achieve. It was during this period that I worked on the more ‘concrete’ aspects of my campaign such as getting the petition signed, attempting (but ultimately failing to) run a postcard campaign, and meeting important people. The idea of the Although I faced many small challenges that were easily overcome in this stage, one challenge that was difficult to overcome appeared when I presented my resolution to student council. After I gave my speech to the councilmembers about my campaign and why it was something that ASM should endorse, I was bombarded by questions from one particular representative. She aggressively asked me questions that were somewhat irrelevant to my campaign and continuously asked and challenged me about the measures that I had in mind. It was daunting because I had already mentioned that I only had a few measures in mind, and that any solution would have to be discussed with aldermen first. However, I stood my ground and asserted that my campaign, despite being in its beginning stages, was worthy of ASM’s endorsement. If I could change my campaign somehow, I would have prepared more for presentations and meetings. I feel that a lot of my meetings and presentations would have gone smoother if I had done so. For example, my meeting with a WUD assistant director was not as smooth as it would have been if I had prepared more than a few questions and discussion points to ask her. Also, I could have avoided feeling so uncomfortable at the student council meeting when I presented my resolution. By giving a mock presentation to other people first, I could have better prepared myself for any questions that could have attacked me. Giving class raps was also slightly uncomfortable; although I did not mention it previously as it was a small challenge I easily overcame. I thoroughly memorized my script for each class rap, but I feel that if I had memorized points of the script instead of the script in its entirety, I could have avoided sounding dull and monotonous.

Section 4. Next Steps

So far, my campaign has yielded the following results: 1) Raised awareness of the issue, and that efforts are being made to address it 2) This in turn works as encouragement and opens students to the option of initiating

their own efforts 3) Gained support from the ASM Student Council (20th Session) 4) Made Aldermen (specifically Scott Resnick and Mike Verveer) aware that efforts to

address this issue are still being made 5) Created a potential volunteer base in case future actions require physical student

presence

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The next steps that I, or any member of UW should take are: 1) Meet with aldermen to discuss ways to address this issue 2) Work with aldermen to create legislation 3) Have the piece of legislation passed, bring some number of students to the hearing

What I achieved in the spring 2014 semester was the first phase of the campaign: building a volunteer base, raising awareness, and gathering the necessary tools to use to negotiate with aldermen. The second phase will be using the existing tools to discuss ways to solve this issue with Aldermen. Whether it is I, or another student of UW, who embarks on this second phase, I feel that my success in spring 2014 will make the second phase an easy victory.

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Appendices

Appendix 1: A survey conducted in the spring semester of 2013 Appendix 2: Strategy chart for Spring 2014 Appendix 3: Example email to a student government member of a Big10 school Appendix 4: Sample page from petition Appendix 5: Postcard for postcard campaign Appendix 6: Student Council Resolution

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY CONDUCTED IN SPRING 2013

Last Modified: 01/19/2013

1. How old are you?

# Answer

Response %

1 18

673 27%

2 19

773 31%

3 20

627 25%

4 Over 21

404 16%

Total 2,477 100%

2. What year are you?

# Answer

Response %

1 Freshman

828 33%

2 Sophomore

746 30%

3 Junior

543 22%

4 Senior

236 10%

5 Other

127 5%

Total 2,480 100%

3. Do you think that most nighttime entertainment is targeted at those who are 21 and older?

# Answer

Response %

1 Yes

2,248 91%

2 No

220 9%

Total 2,468 100%

4. Have you ever used a fake ID to get into a bar? (All answers will remain completely anynonmous).

# Answer

Response %

1 Yes

818 33%

2 No

1,655 67%

Total 2,473 100%

5. If so, why?

# Answer

Response %

1 To purchase alcohol

186 9%

2 To see an entertainment act

88 4%

3 Both

453 21%

5 The question does not apply to me

1,422 66%

Total 2,149 100%

6. If a business offered entertainment acts (e.g. a concert) to those 18 and older, what is the most you would be willing to pay per ticket?

# Answer

Response %

1 $15-‐$20

1,168 47%

2 $20-‐$25

499 20%

3 $25-‐$30

222 9%

4 Over $35

98 4%

5 None. All of these prices are too high

484 20%

Total 2,471 100%

7. If entertainment were offered to those 18 and older off of campus, would transportation be an issue?

# Answer

Response %

1 Yes

1,878 76%

2 No

594 24%

Total 2,472 100%

8. How far would you be willing to travel for entertainment offered to those 18 and older?

# Answer

Response %

1

I am only willing to travel within campus

1,283 51%

2 I am willing to travel 15-‐20 minutes

1,003 40%

3 I am willing to travel 25-‐30 minutes

149 6%

4

I am willing to travel more than 30 minutes

75 3%

Total 2,510 100%

MIDWEST ACADEMY CAMPAIGN STRATEGY CHART After choosing your issue, fill in this chart as a guide to developing strategy. Be specific. List all the possibilities.

GOALS ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

CONSTITUENTS, ALLIES & OPPONENTS

TARGETED DECISION MAKERS

TACTICS

Long-‐term Cut Issue: Increasing the number of 18+ entertainment on State Street by at least 2 venues, or by the end of the May 2014

Resources You Have ASM – office supplies, technology, money, staff.

Constituents/Base UW-Madison students under 21 who would want these new places

Primary City Council – probably Alder Verveer as state street is in his district. He sits on the Alcohol License Review Committee, Downtown Coordinating Committee, Madison’s Central Business Improvement District Board, and most importantly, State Street Design Project Oversight

Choose an item. The legislation should allow for lower taxes for business owners who run 18+ entertainment on state street for the first 1-‐2 years. Owners who run 21+ and 18+ venues, receive lower taxes for both/all venues. Media events will be used to spread awareness of lowered taxes to attract business owners Intermediate

Have City Council pass a legislation to have more 18+ entertainment by April 30th

Resources You Want - Expand leadership group and increase experience of group: I need supporters to come with me to meetings (this will help me for when I conduct meetings and I can help build leadership) - Develop a media plan, some way to raise awareness so I can muster support.

Allies Students of UW-Madison, Alderman Mike Verveer, business owners who wish to have more 18+ entertainment venue, (look into: Hawks Restraunt)

Secondary Specific Business owners on State Street that support this issue

Choose an item. Use resolution and petition to convince City Council members to support the issue. Resistance will be met with: Media events to gather student support, endorsements, disrupting business on state street (strikes, boycotts)

Short-‐term Pass a resolution through SC in support of this issue by March 14th.

Internal Considerations This project has been worked on in the past by Rachel Lepak. She did not “fail” to complete the project, she merely stopped working on it. I will meet her to talk to her about what she did and how far she got so I can talk decide how much work needs to be done and where I need to start.

Opponents Some business owners (increased competititon may result in loss of customers to these new entertainment venues), some council members may be opposed to this idea

Choose an item. Present research to SC: other college campuses in the last 5 years that increased 18+ entertainment in their towns, and how they did it. Find business owners and have them sign a petition to increase 18+ entertainment on state street.

© THE MIDWEST ACADEMY 27 E. Monroe St. 11th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603 | (312) 427-‐2304 | [email protected] | www.midwestacademy.com

APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE EMAIL TO STUDENT GOVERNMENT MEMBER OF ANOTHER BIG10 SCHOOL RE: ASM CAMPAIGN Hello Hoyon! Unfortunately, we have not looked into doing any such development in our off campus areas. I think this is a brilliant idea and would love to know what you all of ASM decide to do to address this issue. Currently we recently underwent an annexation process of the Purdue campus into the city of West Lafayette. Because of this, we will be looking at all sorts of student entertainment venues in the near future when the city of West Lafayette finalizes their plans. This link is the most recent presentation that the city has given in regards to their plans for the newly developed State Street (our main drive through campus). http://prezi.com/s_hxwzapjtlv/140213-‐ssmp-‐public-‐meeting-‐2/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy I hope this helps and best of luck to you with these efforts! I look forward to hearing of what all you decide to implement! Best, Eva Flick -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ Original Message -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ From: "Hoyon Mephokee" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, March 8, 2014 3:39:23 PM Subject: ASM Campaign Hello, My name is Hoyon Mephokee and I’m an intern on the Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs committee. My campaign addresses the lack of entertainment venues in the downtown area for students under 21 years of age. I am working with Mia Akers who referred me to you.

I was wondering if the Purdue Student Government had worked on any similar projects to address entertainment in the city, and if so, can you provide me some information as to how it was done? Any documents or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Hoyon Mephokee -‐-‐ Eva Flick Chief of Staff, Purdue Student Government President, Alpha Gamma Delta Class of 2015 [email protected] 317-‐517-‐1279

APPENDIX 4: SAMPLE PAGE FROM PETITION

APPENDIX 5: POSTCARD FOR POSTCARD CAMPAIGN

A s s o c i a t e d S t u d e n t s o f M a d i s o n

ASM Student Council, 20th Session

Legislation XX-XXXX-XX Title: Increasing 18+ Entertainment Options on State Street

Sponsored by: Vice-Chair Akers, Representative Paetsch, Representative Gierok, Chair Gardner, Chair Rae

1 Whereas, entertainment options on State Street are seriously limited for underage students 2 especially in the later hours of the night, 3 4 Whereas, the lack of said entertainment options diminishes the campus experience 5 6 Whereas, students of UW-Madison, as well as those of other Big 10 schools, have consistently 7 supported the increase of entertainment options catered to underage students 8 9 Whereas, bars and pubs can use a wristband system to allow underage students to enter their 10 venues to participate in a concert, or other social event 11 12 Whereas, businesses that already cater to underage students can stay open for longer so that 13 underage students have entertainment options in the later hours of the night 14 15 Whereas, doing such, as well as other measures, can promote economic growth in the downtown 16 areas as well as potentially curb the alcohol culture on campus 17 18 Be it resolved, that ASM shall endorse the increase in 18+ entertainment options on State Street 19 20 Date introduced: April 9th, 2014 Date acted upon: April 9th, 2014 21 22 Disposition: 23

24 Secretary: Andre Hunter, Jr. 25

26 Chair: David K. Gardner 27 28

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