A mess of dancers and a handful of guest DJs (including Digital Assassins and Lara vs. Muschi) took over Westlake Center at Fourth Avenue and Pine Street Saturday September 7, demonstrating that raves aren't all about massive drug use and obnoxious kids with glow sticks.
Their intention? To raise awareness of the RAVE Act (Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002).
"Our purpose was to fight the RAVE Act and its root cause--a misunderstanding of what the rave scene, as a whole, is about," said 21-year-old Jesiah Martin, member of the NWLNC. "In broad daylight we did our best to both educate people on the RAVE Act and show people what this scene is truly about: music, people, and dancing."
If the RAVE Act is passed, it will expand on the current "crack house law" (which makes owning a building where drugs are made, sold, used, or distributed illegal). Under the RAVE Act, a concert promoter and/or club owner would be held responsible for any drugs that are present, sold, or used within the club, thus smacking the promoter and/or club owner with an outrageous fine (up to $750,000) and/or possible imprisonment (like 20 years!). And this wouldn't apply to just raves and rave venues--this could include any concert venue.
"I'm not against what the RAVE Act is attempting to do. Ecstasy abuse has damaged this scene," stated Jesiah. "But under the RAVE Act, the police have the power to target any event where the promoter ought to know there will be drug use occurring. Even if the promoters do all they can to stop drugs from entering their event, they will still be held responsible for the drug abuse of their attendants.
"This scares me, because if the government can't keep drugs out of its own schools, how am I supposed to guarantee that there will be no drugs at an event I'm producing?"
The RAVE Act is currently before the Senate, which is expected to discuss it over the next few weeks. The NWLNC urges interested people to educate themselves, contact their senators, and express their concern. For more information, visit NWLNC's website, www.nwlnc.org, or read the act at http://thomas.loc.gov/ (search for bill number S-2633). You can find contact information for your senator at http://www.senate.gov/.
