UCSB recently announced that it will be spending $40,000 on ads discouraging non-locals from coming to I.V. for Deltopia 2017. As we’ve seen in the past, Isla Vista weekends like Halloween and Deltopia have drawn massive and sometimes uncontrollable crowds. Safety in I.V. should always be a top priority; however, there are much greater issues our university faces than a few rowdy days a year, and $40,000 seems like it could be better spent somewhere else.
To continue to be a top university, UCSB must focus on the quality of education and keep up with standards other progressive schools are setting. This includes new technology, policy adoption and accommodating students of all backgrounds. To ensure productivity and innovation in the coming years, we must educate this generation to the best of our ability, and that means increasing funding for learning potential, not mass coverage of a regular old weekend in I.V.
This $40k supposedly comes out of funds gifted by alumni. If it were my money, I would want it to stretch as far as possible to engage students and give them unique opportunities, and, somehow, Pandora ads asking out-of-towners not to party in Santa Barbara doesn’t really affect my education whatsoever. Those funds could be used to hire a few extra counselors at C.A.P.S. so that the only available appointment to discuss serious mental health issues isn’t a few weeks or even months out. The money could go directly to financial aid so that we can be a university that educates students from unlimited socioeconomic backgrounds in this land of unequal opportunity. Perhaps best of all, those $40,000 could support the Syrian refugee students UCSB just resolved to admit, a motion that makes me incredibly proud of my school.
“Spending money is like watering your plants: What you focus on grows, and everything else dies.”
Of course, there remains the question of student safety during Deltopia weekend. The more people who attend, the more likely it is to get out of control; it is with good intentions that UCSB officials instated these advertisements discouraging visitors. The argument can be made that student safety is as essential as their learning experience. However, there are much more effective and efficient ways to keep it local. I.V. kids can stay safe without the help of advertisements; road blockades and police presence will keep the excitement under control. Any partying has the potential for danger. A picture in the corner of my Facebook page reminding me not to invite my friends from UCLA up for the weekend won’t discourage me any more than a quick email from the UCSB Office of Student Life will.
Students can easily communicate to their non-local friends that I.V. is already crowded enough, and hearing it on the radio between songs is unnecessary. Since we have limited funds to make our university a prime learning environment, we have to prioritize.
If people know about Deltopia and want to come, no ad will stop them. However, when that weekend is over and they’re long gone, all of UCSB’s students will still be here, and they need resources. I wanted to write on this issue because when I heard fellow students complaining about how much money would be wasted on these ads, I started to seriously consider how money affects a university’s ability to educate the most students in the best way possible. With just a few extra fundraisers or by saving money not spent on unnecessary publicity for I.V., the number of students admitted on scholarships could double.
Spending money is like watering your plants: What you focus on grows, and everything else dies. Of course, we will still have money for the great education programs available here at UCSB with or without the anti-Deltopia ads, but the point is that every dollar counts. What we prioritize will grow the most, and it is important to be mindful of exactly what we are allowing to grow. Perhaps a more effective method of keeping Deltopia weekend safe would be distributing emails or student-made signs encouraging mild, peaceful behavior no matter how many people show up. Perhaps letting students or student leadership have a say in what some of the alumni “gift funds” go to would create a more well-rounded foundation so that some departments won’t go underfunded.
Money is power, and UCSB leaders are given the huge responsibility of handling this power. It is my hope that underprivileged students and a supreme education foundation are prioritized over UCSB’s party reputation.
Olivia Yazzolino hopes the university reconsiders their investment in Deltopia-related advertising.
do you really think 40k pays for even half of a CAPS Counselor let a lone a few.
as an alumni who lived in IV during the riots, I don’t mind my money being used for this. having all the out of towners who didn’t even know anyone in IV and just showed up for the party without caring about the community and trashed the place…was terrible. UCSB got a lot of bad press which lowkey devalues the degree I got. Granted, UCSB is great academically and whatnot but right after the riots, we didn’t have the best reputation
Oh, the riot the cops provoked? A few years ago right? At least one professor thinks UCSB wanted to have problems so they could crack down on IV. If you look at the Nexus, there’s clear evidence the cops wanted a riot – just read the permit application for the surveillance towers that were put up before that weekend.
Blaming it on the cops helps no one. I was there only during the day (before rioting) and the streets were filled with chaos, and destroyed private property was abundant. It was clear to me that the entire town was an animal house, but at the time I (and the public eye) couldn’t distinguish university students from OOTs. I’m gonna take this a step further now; What do you think that does to the value of our UCSB degree for employers/careers to come? And what do you think that does to the university’s reputation? Let me reiterate: what do you… Read more »
Quite frankly cosmetic campaigns like this do nothing to improve UCSB’s image. Neither does cracking down on Halloween or Deltopia. The townies couldn’t give a rats ass what campus does-their minds are already made up. Heck, they’d like SBCC shut down (or carpet bombed) unless they get rid of the out of area students, and the same goes for UCSB as far as they’re concerned. They resent UCSB and its students as a bunch of elitist assholes.
No most just think you are spoiled brats whining and complaining about things that everyone else in society does like follow laws. Or not walking and biking in the middle of the road
that is stupid and paranoid. IV Had over a 100 people yelling and throwing things at the cops this year for just trying to arrest a drug dealer one weekend. Utter disregard for law enforcement and reality in IV
Perhaps law enforcement is undeserving of any respect.
I like how you mentioned unpriveleged groups on campus yet you don’t consider that they can benefit from this too. Not too say UCSB couldn’t do more for those group who need financial support, including people who need CAPS services. Also, $40,000 could help how many students via financial aid? Additionally you mentioned police roadblocks being used instead of radio adverts. Did you investigate how much any police presence, not even considering how students react to the police, would cost? Lastly the last line of the article wishes that this place is viewed as a supreme education foundation” and not… Read more »
In reality: (1) the ads are not only going on the radio (2) Preventative measures have shown a statistical decrease in criminal activity in the years since the riots (3) The out of towners are not all invited as friends of university students, but instead, at least in principle, the idea of a party the size of a town is spread from friends to friends of friends to strangers that nobody needs around. Why are people so against the bureaucratic influence of university politics if it is going to help our school’s reputation? I’m sure there are certain social population… Read more »
I was going to go to UCSB, then I heard about all this negative stigma and that discouraged me.
Weenie, isla vista is a great place and you can come or not,it’s completely up the the person no one is forced into isla vista
IV is garbage and to be avoided at all costs
Who cares what you think? Certainly not the thousands of people who live in IV. Go away troll.
Ummmm… 40k is nothing in the budget and the tampering down of Deltopia saves hundreds of thousands of dollars not to mention reduces the potential for loss of life. 40k is totally worth it. I would also argue the ads are extremely successful. Out of towners have been dramatically reduced since the ads started going out.