Deltopia 2016: #NotHappening

To ensure the safety of students, the campus and the broader community during what has become an annual spring event, UC Santa Barbara is implementing an array of restrictions and policies for the weekend of April 2. And, just as in 2015, the university is again collaborating with both Santa Barbara County the city of Goleta to enforce ordinances and regulations.

As an alternative to the unsanctioned street party known as Deltopia, UCSB’s Associated Students organization is hosting its second annual campus-based “The Warmup,” which features two screenings of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at Campbell Hall and roller skating at the RecCen on Friday night; and movie screenings at Corwin Pavilion and a concert at the Thunderdome on Saturday night.

A no-guest policy will be in place — and no visitor parking permits will be issued — for all UCSB residence halls, both on campus and in Isla Vista, from 12 p.m. Friday, April 1, to 12 p.m. Sunday, April 3. There will be checkpoints set up to ensure that only residents enter UCSB housing complexes, and increased patrols of parking lots will include the ticketing and towing of vehicles lacking an approved permit.

Parking on campus will be restricted from 5 p.m. Friday, April 1, to 7:30 a.m. Sunday, April 3. Daytime parking will be available only to vehicles displaying valid permits issued by the Department of Transportation and Parking Services. Permits purchased via dispensers will expire at 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 1, and 11:59 p.m. Saturday, April 2. Permits are not valid for overnight parking.

There are additional parking restrictions in place for certain blocks in Isla Vista and in Goleta neighborhoods around UCSB. Beaches in Isla Vista will be closed.

As an added security measure for student residents, temporary fencing has been installed along El Colegio and Los Carneros Roads, as well as a portion of Stadium Road; on the center median and at entrances to San Clemente Village; and at San Rafael, Manzanita and Santa Catalina halls.

The UCSB Police Department will have about 100 officers helping to patrol the campus and Isla Vista; the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will also have personnel on hand doing saturation patrols in and around Isla Vista.

In addition, the CHP will set up sobriety checkpoints in Isla Vista and Goleta, and enforce any vehicle code violations on the Highway 101 corridor from San Luis Obispo to Ventura. Agents from Alcohol and Beverage Control will monitor both Isla Vista and Goleta for sales of alcohol to minors, and for the illegal transportation of alcohol; the Sheriff’s Department will conduct sweeps of Goleta hotels for underage drinking.

Student-created, student-staffed program UCIV will once again be in full swing, sending volunteers into Isla Vista to act as liaisons between the community and law enforcement by providing information about available resources; notifying residents who may be in violation of ordinances; and serving as safe escorts.

Also in effect will be the county festival music ordinance prohibiting amplified music after 6 p.m. Amplified music can be played prior to 6 p.m., as long as it does not attract crowds and is geared toward small personal gatherings. Music that can be heard by 500 or more people may be a violation of permitting requirements.

As with last year, enforcement of all restrictions is zero-tolerance. No warnings will be given.

Debbie Fleming, UCSB’s associate vice chancellor for student affairs, detailed many of the university’s vast restrictions and enforcement plans in a recent letter to all UCSB students, emphasizing notions of community pride and a hope to keep things “Safe and local.”  Similar correspondence was sent to the principals of every junior high and high school from Santa Maria to Oxnard.

Finally, a robust marketing effort — centered largely in social media, as well as on Pandora Internet Radio — has been actively discouraging out-of-towners and locals alike from attending Deltopia, or inviting friends to come. An series of targeted ads remind would-be party-goers to “Keep Isla Vista Safe,” noting the consequences and penalties of partying and, on the local side specifically, promoting safety and encouraging community pride.

“We’re seeing signs of a real shift in student attitudes toward safety,” Fleming said in an interview. “They’re really embracing keeping these things local and keeping them more low-key, and keeping it to their close circle of friends as the way to protect the community and protect themselves. It’s nice to see the students on the same page that we are, and I think they’re a big part of the big shift we’ve seen over the last two years.

“But we’re not letting up,” Fleming added. “Students don’t want this in their community anymore, and we have their buy-in. It’s been a good collaborative effort all the way around, including our partners in the city of Goleta, the Sheriff’s Department and the county.”