Center Street has established itself as a staple of tradition for students at Virginia Tech. The Blacksburg Town Council Is considering a proposal that would require gatherings of over 200 people to be registered with the town. Many students consider Center Street an 'integral part' of Game Days. In July, the Town Council will vote for the final time and decide if this proposal will take place.

The town's proposal - effectively ending the practice of center street as it has come to be known - Blacksburg residents will have to register 30 days in advance of any mass gathering. A mass gathering is considered any amount above 200 people. 

Through this proposal, the town of Blacksburg is working towards greater safety for the larger Blacksburg community. No reasonable student would fault the town in this pursuit. What the proposal misunderstands, though, is the role that Center Street currently plays in the preservation of such safety.

Virginia Tech's rich tradition surrounding gameday inspires comradery and social gatherings for undergraduate students. It would be ignorant to assume that such gatherings, and the subsequent consumption of alcohol, would cease to occur if students weren't allowed to gather on Center Street. Center Street allows law enforcement to monitor and control crowd activity in a consolidated area, whereas the proposal would spread the energy and heavy alcohol consumption on gameday around the entire town of Blacksburg, eradicating the previously widespread safety and security of gameday. At present, the prospect of recklessness is contained to an area that Blacksburg law enforcement can easily control. Upon passage of this proposal, the Town of Blacksburg would be subjecting our hard-working law enforcement to a much more difficult task of widespread containment of potentially reckless behavior.