The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OPINION 90,2028 | 12 § AT SOME POINT, WE = HAVE TO ADMIT THAT 2 OUR RESOURCES g COULD BE BETTER = ALLOCATED ON MARCH 17, WRITES = MIKE FARWELL There's an oft-repeated doing the same , Marck nicl ~ MIKE FARWELL lum students they "are expected to engage in safe, responsi. ble, and thing over and over again but texpecting a different re- os light of our annual, il- legal street party in Water- loo, maybe it's time fora con- versation about the result we're e: ing. I get the sense most peo- pleinourcommunity would like to see the party end, and the messaging from public institutions certainly al- ludes to this. We hear simi- Jar platitudes from the City of Waterloo, regional police, and even Wilfrid Laurier University, which reminds Plaints can be heard year af- ter year. It'snot that the critics are wrong; it's just that their complaints are fruitless. The annual party that sees students, in the name of St. Patrick, taking over streets. in their Waterloo neigh- bourhood is not going to stop. So, maybe it's time to talk about the resources allocat- ed to the party. Fencing has been. rainy weather on March 17. erected, portable toilets have been trucked in, and Have we ever stopped to ask why? If it was our understand- ing these resources were meant to stop the party, well, we must have misun- derstood. ese resources be- ing provided to keep the par- Waterloo Region Record ahoto brate St. Patrick's Day on Marshall Street despite tiers safe? Images from the party continue to show students congregating on rooftops some cases, even jumping from them (which doesn't seem like safe beha- viour at all). Recently, we've learned that if we use fencing to make the street party expe- rience too uncomfortable 7 one neighbourhood, party will just relocate to a new neighbourhood. Which brings us back to ‘WHY ARE WE SPENDING CLOSE TO $1M OF THE COMMUNITY’ S MONEY ON THIS? the original question. Why are we spending tees to $1 million of the community's money on this? The students have made it clear that no amount of street posts, or anything that gets them above adults. young adults, but adults, nonethe- less. They've heard the warnings and they under- stand their behaviour is frowned upon. They know the risks, but they still choose to have their illegal street party. As a community, we al- ready provide ample re- sources to help when things go awry. We have trained profes- sionals to respond to emer- gencies, we have hospitals medical clinics to deal anh injuries, and we've pro- vided the educational op- portunities to help these young adults understand the impact of their actions. Atsome point, we have to admit our resources could be better allocated on March 17. Maybi e we could invest instead ina true celebration of Irish heritage, complete with music, a parade, and even beer — with a li and permits in place. is would be welcome to attend our legal community celebration if they choose. Columnist Mike Farwell is a broadcaster, MC and advocate. Follow him on Twitter at @farwell_WR, or connect with him via Mike.Farwell@rci.rog- ers.com. SAVE 39% ON HOME DELIVERY 6-Day access to the Waterloo Region Record ePaper! WATERLOO REGION RECORD Friday & Satu *Plus HST. Save 59% off th waterloochronicle.ca \d rate for Friday and Saturday to the Waterloo Region Record ePaper edition and therecord.com. The New Tk Times Internationa Weekly and Book Review 12-month introductory period at the regular home-delivery rate then in effect. Cot our subscriber agreement at therecord.com/agreement and our privacy policy at thestar.com/privacy. Offer expires April 30, 2023. day Home Delivery $ T 9 9g WEEK! Subscribe at: wroffer.ca/deal/CNWRI199 or call 1-800-210-5210 and mention offer code: CNWRI199 is not available to current Waterloo Region Record subscribers. This offer includes complimentary access section and TV Week are not included. ntact customer service at 1-800-210-5210 to get the regular rate for your area. Payment must be made by credit card only. View Home delivery will continue after the