Campus police and administrators at UC Santa Cruz are taking greater measures this year to dissuade thousands of students and marijuana enthusiasts from congregating on campus for the annual April 20 marijuana festival.
Participation in the 2009 festival will be discouraged with barricades, stringent parking enforcement, restricted shuttle access and a ban on overnight guests in university housing from April 17 to April 20.
Thousands of students and community members gather every year in Porter Meadow to smoke and ingest cannabis, filling the sky with a haze of smoke.
Though the tradition began 20 years ago, UCSC spokesman Jim Burns ‘mdash; who has worked there for 24 years ‘mdash; said the event has attracted an unmanageable number of participants within the last several years.
Officials first attempted to crack down last year, after receiving increased public attention that stemmed partly from the publication of an article in Rolling Stone magazine about the university’s reputation as a stoner campus.
‘Obviously, this isn’t something that the university wants to be associated with,’ Santa Cruz City Councilman Mike Rotkin said. ‘The university took similar precautions for the first time last year, but it didn’t seem to curb the number of students and community members from attending.’
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Fellicia McGinty recently sent an e-mail to students and parents of freshmen labeling the event unsanctioned and unwelcome, calling it an ‘illegal activity that diminishes UCSC’s reputation and draws negative attention to the campus.’
She encouraged parents to speak with students about marijuana use and their plans for April 20.
‘We don’t like that our campus attracts people whose only reason for being here is to participate in an illegal activity,’ Burns said. ‘It really doesn’t portray a positive image of the university.”
Last year, campus police turned away 50 cars from Porter Meadow and issued 100 parking tickets. Burns said the university will continue curbing 4/20 activities in coming years.
Nevertheless, UCSC junior Diana Avenado said the use of marijuana is a ‘fairly harmless’ Santa Cruz pastime that will not disappear any time soon.
‘I don’t think parking restrictions and barricades will really do much,’ she said. ‘They didn’t seem to last year.’
Readers can contact Deepak Seeni at [email protected].