Madeline Bryce/Daily Nexus
As Isla Vista welcomes back thousands of residents for the start of the new academic school year, students at UC Santa Barbara are witnessing the emergence of a new party culture. Roof sitters have become a prevalent presence at some of Isla Vista’s most popular band shows, threatening both the structural integrity of sketchy houses and lowkey killing the vibe.
On Friday, Sept. 19, a band show was shut down by Isla Vista Police Department (IVPD), who cited safety concerns and noise complaints. Some witnesses claim that the sheriffs were responding to a call made by a first-year who was rejected by a girl on the roof, while others claim the call was made by a zooted third-year who had thought he was floating midair.
Police officers managed to get through the crowd of people — who were in the middle of trying to figure out which freshmen were pushing them — and promptly told the lead singer to get people off the roof or IVPD would confiscate their instruments.
The lead singer, a recent graduate of UCSB, was heard asking the police officers several questions, notably: “Wait, you’re trying to arrest our tambourine?”
One of the roof guys, whom witnesses itendified as “probably Carter, maybe John or potentially David,” gave a brief comment before biking away down Pasado while reading “The Stranger” by Albert Camus.
“I was just trying to feel something up there, and then all of a sudden the crowd’s looking up at us and yelling ‘Get down,’ and I was like, ‘But we stay up,’” Carter/John/David said. “When everybody had to leave, people kept coming up to me and saying I was aura farming, but I’m actually a super genuine person.”
Quinn Nelson, a first-year biology major, came to the Daily Nexus with his perspective, even though no one asked him.
“Classic case of roof guys disrupting the social ecosystem,” Nelson, who’s actually never been to a band party before, said. “Everyone knows roof sitters are police beacons; they just ruined it for everyone.”
Some people, despite having to search for a new party at 11 p.m., were mildly impressed with the roof sitters. Briar Corin, a third-year writing and literature major, commented.
“Insane aura, though. Imagine being able to shut down a whole party simply because you’re existing 12 feet above the vibe.”
Dahlia Liberman, one of the residents of the house that hosted the roof squatters, was also quite complimentary of their efforts.
“It’s the only time our lights have actually worked. Maybe the weight on the roof forced shit in the house to function properly. Hopefully they’ll be back!”
Serrano Ham hopes the tambourine is doing okay.
