SLO, Cal Poly beefed up enforcement for St. Fratty's Day. Did students stay off the street?
The city of San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly made prevention of property destruction at the hands of St. Fratty's Day partiers a priority this year — and on the morning of the big celebration, the famously large crowds failed to materialize in the neighborhoods around campus.
In the weeks leading up to Saturday's festivities, the city and university officials teamed up to introduce enhanced enforcement measures after last year's party drew over 6,000 people.
In January, the city expanded the usual safety enhancement zone — which previously ran on St. Fratty's Day only — to include the weekend before and the days surrounding the event as well, while the university staged a 5,000-person concert with headliners Zhu and Galantis on campus.
As the sun rose over the neighborhoods surrounding the university, crowds flocked to the on-campus music festival, then trickled out to the streets as the concert wore on.
'I would say it's good enforcement, but they should have gave a better option for all the students,' third-year student Emily Lopez said while hanging out on Hathway Avenue at 8 a.m. 'I like the concert idea, but they should have made it available to all students.'
In 2024, Hathway was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with partiers, with little breathing room and crowds covering more than two blocks of streets, sidewalks and yards.
This year, scattered groups of people searched the street for places to party as police officers set up checkpoints throughout the neighborhoods nearest Cal Poly and patrolled the area on foot, bike, motorcycle and horseback, keeping crowds from accumulating.
Law enforcement appeared to place an emphasis on keeping crowds from collecting in the street, corralling the masses onto the sidewalks and away from any one neighborhood.
Though law enforcement permitted students to walk through the neighborhoods that have historically been home to the party, they gave the crowds a short leash when it came to lingering anywhere.
Their message: 'Go home or you get arrested.'
San Luis Obispo Police Department spokesperson Christine Wallace told The Tribune that it looked like the city's work to prevent street partying appeared successful as of Saturday morning.
'We are appreciative of the support of the agencies that came in to assist,' she said. 'We were able to manage the people who were in the neighborhoods looking to create a street party and disseminate them (before) anything could really get going.'
San Luis Obispo Mayor Erica Stewart told The Tribune the St. Fratty's Day management was 'heartening' — but also asserted that it was not over yet.
She credited local police as well as the law enforcement that traveled from around the state to help the city and university prevent the block party.
Still, Stewart said the city was moving forward with 'heightened awareness.'
'We're still all very aware that St. Patrick's Day is not done and the safety enhancement zone is still here throughout Tuesday,' she said.
As of mid-morning on Saturday, Cal Poly spokesman Matt Lazier said there had been no major incidents of on-campus vandalism or damage related to partying.
'Some partying activity with minor damage,' Lazier told The Tribune around 7:30 a.m. 'So far, nothing on the order of what we saw last year.'
San Luis Obispo resident Kathie Walker, who lives in the vicinity of the traditional block party, told The Tribune she was happy with the neighborhood management Saturday morning.
Walker is active in Residents for Quality Neighborhoods, a community group that has advocated for better management of St. Fratty's Day partying.
'The response by law enforcement exceeded our expectations and we are really happy with how everything was handled this morning,' she said. 'We all hope this continues in future years.'
Cindy Vix, another San Luis Obispo resident and Residents for Quality Neighborhoods affiliate, owns a rental home on Bond Street that was vandalized during last year's block party.
She had concerns about this year's celebration, but was ultimately happy with how the city and university managed the party.
'I'm just thrilled,' she told The Tribune on Saturday after the bulk of the celebration wound down.
She said she would remain 'cautiously optimistic' this weekend and hoped law enforcement would maintain a strong presence in the neighborhoods.
Many students said while they understood the reasons for the enhanced enforcement measures, they were disappointed that the mass party was off the table.
'Being a criminology major, I understand the conflict,' second-year student Scott Craig said. 'I think the law enforcement want everyone to have a good time but they want to keep the street safe, and I understand why they're trying to stop it, but at the same time it's Cal Poly. Let the kids live and have fun.'
San Luis Obispo Police Department spokesperson Christine Wallace told The Tribune that nearly 300 officers from agencies across several counties helped with the response.
In total, Wallace said, 24 law enforcement agencies worked the event.
At least eight of those agencies were local to San Luis Obispo County: the San Luis Obispo Police Department, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, police departments from Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach and Grover Beach, the San Luis Obispo County Probation and Atascadero State Hospital.
Six were state agencies: the California Highway Patrol, State Fish and Wildlife, State Parks, the California Deptartment of Alcohol Beverage Control, the Department of Corrections and the California National Guard. The National Guard was not in the field but was assisting with technology related to field deployment, Wallace said.
The other out-of-county agencies were the sheriff's offices from Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and Kings County and police departments from Guadalupe, San Francisco, Shafter, Oxnard, Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara.
Kings County and Santa Barbara County sheriff's offices both provided equestrian units.
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