Last year, partying during St. Patrick's Day weekend in San Luis Obispo reached a point where people were swinging on power lines and destroying private property both on-campus at Cal Poly and in the off-campus Alta Vista neighborhood.
“I like the tradition. I just don't want to get my house destroyed," one student said.
After last year's event, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong issued a statement to the Cal Poly community saying that he was “disappointed and disgusted” at the damage left behind.
“The behavior of destroying your own home or having a visitor come in and destroy your own home, your residence hall was just not acceptable," Armstrong recalled.
He concluded the note by saying, "If that's the way you're going to act, maybe Cal Poly is not for you.”
This year, the university is planning an on-campus event to draw crowds of potential partiers away from the neighborhoods with a live concert from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. on March 15.
“We'll give students a chance to have a good time, but in a very thoughtful way, in a very controlled way and not in the neighborhoods," Armstrong said.
San Luis Obispo Mayor Erica A. Stewart pointed out there were consequences to last year's out-of-control partying, noting more than 450 calls to dispatch and more than 200 people who were disciplined.
“We are not welcoming this," she stated. "There's nothing about this that we want to see again.”
President Armstrong explained that both the city and the university hope the on-campus event grows while the off-campus partying decreases.
“Get the crowds of students and other individuals out of the neighborhoods — that's what we want," Armstrong stated.
“I really hope we get to the point that we can respect each other, have a safe enjoyment, and go from there," Stewart concluded.
On March 6, there is a student town hall for the Cal Poly community to ask questions to representatives from the Cal Poly and the San Luis Obispo Police Departments as well as President Armstrong. For other questions, you can visit RespectSLO.com or Cal Poly's Dean of Students Office.
