Isla Vista clamping down Halloween holiday revelry
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 30, 2001 9:00 p.m.
By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Staff
Officials in Isla Vista, a perennial Halloween hotspot for both
the UC Santa Barbara community and its visitors, are taking strides
this holiday to discourage out-of-town travelers and to eliminate
the party atmosphere associated with the school for more than a
decade.
In addition to the presence of more than 60 police officers in
the square-mile land area, many local streets will be blocked off,
and alcohol and noise policies will be strictly enforced throughout
the week, police said.
Officer Ronald Rodriguez of the Isla Vista Foot Patrol said that
in recent years, beatings, rapes, robberies and vandalism were
regular occurrences on Halloween. He said his department will work
to limit the number of injuries sustained.
“We want to knock down the party atmosphere so
there’s not so many intoxicated people in such a congested
area,” Rodriguez said.
Richard Jenkins, advisor in the Office of Student Life at UCSB,
said the Isla Vista community is discouraging outside visitors
because about 80 percent of Halloween arrests in recent years have
been of non-residents.
Sean Conaty, a second-year undeclared student at UC San Diego,
is making his first Halloween trip to Isla Vista, excited by the
experiences of his brother Patrick.
“I want to go because it’s popular and big,”
Conaty said. “Everyone here really gets into it.”
He said that though he recognizes why law enforcement is so
visible, most visitors don’t come to cause damage.
“They think out-of-towners trash the city, but most of us
don’t have any intention of trashing Isla Vista or breaking
laws,” he said.
Isla Vista is a square-mile block of property adjacent to the
university that contains apartments and duplexes, housing 20,000
residents, of which about half are UCSB students.
During this past weekend’s pre-Halloween celebrations,
which included live bands playing on nearby oceanfront Del Playa
Drive, police arrested more than 100 people for public
intoxication. The crowd numbered about 25,000, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez added that altercations have scaled down considerably
in recent years. In the early 1990s, Halloween celebrations
routinely yielded as many as 1,000 arrests.
Many regular visitors of Isla Vista have grown used to the
presence of police at Halloween, finding ways to enjoy themselves
despite the strict environment.
Patrick Conaty, an electrician who has driven from Sacramento to
Isla Vista every Halloween the last three years, said he will
continue to visit because the celebration is incomparable to any
other.
“It’s unmistakably the most fun in the whole
world,” Patrick said. “Everyone dresses up, with girls
not wearing much and guys wearing a lot.”
“But you have to be careful,” he added.
“It’s dangerous because there are a lot of cops out
there trying to ruin our good time.”
A no-tolerance policy established in 1993 eliminated the
requirement that police first issue citations, so violators can now
be arrested without warning.
Patrick was present at this past weekend’s celebrations,
describing the aftermath as a “war zone,” lined with
broken planter pots and streets covered in beer cups.
The commotion in Isla Vista can be traced back to the late
1980s, where it was listed in Playboy Magazine as “the place
to be” for a great Halloween party.
The first year of festivities was 1986, and since then the
crowds have fluctuated to as many as 40,000 people. Rodriguez said
these excessive crowds are to blame for the assaults, rapes and
vandalism that have occurred during Halloween for more than a
decade.
This prompted both UCSB and its surrounding community to
institute a five-year plan in 1992 to eliminate the atmosphere that
has resulted in civil unrest. During that time, between 150 and 170
officers patrolled Isla Vista on Halloween.
Jenkins said the measures and five-year plan were designed to
alter preconceptions about UCSB.
“We’re trying to change our image from a party
school to an academic institution,” Jenkins said.
Officials have been enforcing a festival ordinance, which
prohibits amplified music after 6 p.m. during any festival period
in Isla Vista. The ordinance went into effect Sunday and will
continue until this Friday.
Barricades will be placed on streets to prohibit vehicle traffic
at 9 p.m. tonight.
Jenkins said an alternative to partying in Isla Vista is the
Halloween Carnival in nearby Anisq “˜Oyo Park, with events
including live bands, jugglers and a DÃa de Los Muertos
celebration Thursday.
Sara McKittrick, Isla Vista Recreation and Park District
coordinator for the Halloween/DÃa de Los Muertos celebrations,
said the event is designed for a family environment.
“It’s a festival that unites and brings together the
community of Isla Vista, and it’s impossible to have a safe
family event when we have so many outside colleges coming to
party,” McKittrick said.
