Last year’s Floatopia was unquestionably out of control, ending with injured students and a filthy beach. The Isla Vista community acknowledged the excess that was Floatopia 2009 and took steps to correct it, organizing beach cleanups and an effective boycott of Floatopia 2. The county also took notice, instituting a reactionary beach alcohol ban in the hopes of quashing the holiday. But rather than use this year’s event to gauge the effectiveness of a well-enforced alcohol ban, the county has overstepped its bounds, announcing plans to deny I.V. residents access to the beach.
The county’s decision to blockade I.V. beach access points and patrol waters on Saturday is extreme — and borders on a violation of our rights.
Even worse than a one-day beach closure, the Sheriff’s Dept. has stated that it will consider blocking beach access beyond this weekend, as it deems necessary. This kind of heavy-handed, preemptive police presence sets a dangerous precedent — where is the limit?
For a plan supposedly intended to promote safety, this blockade is shockingly short-sighted. Just as controlling a symptom does not cure the disease, blocking students from official beach access points will not stop them from drinking to excess if that’s what they want to do. Realistically, it won’t even keep them off the beach–determined drunks can slide down the cliffs, a far more dangerous alternative to the stairs.
If the county’s real goal here is to protect students and the environment, there is a better solution. Instead of wasting thousands of dollars maintaining barricades and patrolling the surf, officers could staff standard checkpoints. By acting in such a forceful manner, based only on hypothetical misconduct, the county and police department are violating the spirit (if not the letter, through a series of lucky loopholes) of California law that guarantees public beach access.
UCSB students are not a public nuisance — we are college-educated adults and vital members of the community. This beach blockade is an offensive, poorly thought-out mistake.
I submitted this case to the ACLU
https://www.aclu-sc.org/intake_requests/add
They might be able to help since there are a lot of civil liberties issues at stake. I suggest everyone else do the same.
The blockade is a not a censure on the student body, nor does it say that Gauchos are a "public nuisance." What is says is that Gauchos have failed to take care of their own backyard. The medical, environmental, and financial costs of this event are too high. We pay the police with our taxes to take care of us. I am grateful for this.
If you don’t like the laws about police, police powers, beach access and public events, then I suggest you go through the normal legislative process like any citizen. Undergraduates in general enjoy screaming foul much more than civic participation like writing letters or voting, which makes it hard for me to take them seriously. We’re all adults: act like it.
Look to the example of Burning Man or Coachella for how you run a festival well. It takes a lot of work and organization to protect health and clean up properly. As long as that’s not happening, I applaud the police in protecting our students from self-destructing, just as I support helmet and seat belt laws.
Great staff editorial nexus!
I also feel that Floatopia has become a media sensation this year because of the blockade. The county and foot patrol are attracting this attention with their extreme measures and by demonizing the students. A collaborative effort would have perhaps guaranteed that all parties were content and not created this "us v. them" mentality.
y’all should
stand up to this, in a sober and peaceful fashion. If the county has overstepped their bounds… prove it to them. Certainly, drunken debauchery at another place or time will not suffice. Get creative!