As many as 15,000 people crowded onto RIMAC Field for a glimpse of rapper Ludacris, among a variety of music performers who appeared at the 23rd annual Sun God festival.
Rolling out:
The attendance likely dropped from last year’s record of more than 16,000, who turned out for Busta Rhymes, but still represents one of the larger celebrations of recent years, according to interim A.S. Commissioner of Programming Eric Morris. A final count will not be available until May 16.
“There were so many people that [we] stopped scanning IDs at the door because the lines were so long, [so] we don’t have a concrete number,” Morris said, though he explained that the organizers considered the concert a success. “We’re all extremely happy. Everyone had a good time, and it was relatively safe.”
After the gates opened at 5:30 p.m., students began to stream onto the field, some purchasing food and others playing on inflatable slides and obstacle courses. Through the evening, artists from a variety of genres played on two stages, culminating in Ludacris’ headline performance at approximately 10:30 p.m. Fireworks preceded his appearance.
On a campus often criticized for its lethargy and apathy, the annual celebration represented a refreshing break, according to John Muir College freshman Peter Hogue, who was munching on pizza at the concert with a large group of friends.
“The one thing that UCSD lacks to me — besides a football team — is community,” Hogue said. “Sun God brings out that college community. How many times a year am I going to see all of the underclassmen on the field?”
In addition to fellow students, attendees were kept company by a full battalion of UCSD police officers, patrolling on the department’s busiest day of the year.
“This pretty much eats up our entire department,” UCSD Police Department Cpl. Kristeen McCollough said. “Everyone works on Sun God.”
To prepare for the event, extra police from the San Diego Police Department and San Diego State University reinforced the department’s regular officers. Some officers patrolled in plain-clothes, issuing tickets for drinking, and in response to after-the-fact complaints last year, the police also brought out a team of volunteers to monitor parts of the campus for trouble.
Several students reported seeing a matronly looking woman near Cafe Ventanas wearing a formal dress. Though initially confused by students as someone’s grandmother, the woman was also armed with a cell phone and appeared to diligently dispatch police to trouble spots within her purview.
On about half a dozen occasions during the concert, fire trucks and ambulances drove out onto the field to provide emergency medical assistance.
Security was also out in full force during daytime festivities, patrolling as students gathered at more than 70 booths divided between Library Walk and Sun God Lawn.
The annual party has earned a reputation off campus, attracting guests from local campuses as well.
“My school doesn’t allow drinking, so I’m here having a few beers with my girlfriend, who is a UCSD student,” Point Loma Nazarene senior Seth Aldritch said. “I wish my school did shit like this, trust me.”
Though located at the center of the daytime celebration, the concert’s namesake remained largely untouched, maintaining all of its original anatomy. Last year, for example, the Sun God statue was adorned with an ornamental phallus, sculpted by current Koala Editor Steve York. Connected to a water hose, the giant penis sprayed water onto a slip-and-slide below.
This year, however, a bare-chested York said he chose to pursue a different theme, pointing to a small pool of soapy foam next to the publication’s tent and scantily clad students advertising “foam wrestling.”
“The Koala is very progressive,” he said. “One year, they expose the sexual underside of UCSD with the penis on the Sun God. Now this year, it’s gone on to wrestling, because everyone likes to fight each other. No matter what group of students it is, they love to fight.”
In its second year, the Triton Junkyard Derby is shaping into an annual tradition. Co-sponsored by UCSD Alumni Association as a way to bring alumni back to the campus, the race pitted student teams against each other in vehicles built from campus trash.
Winning by less than one-fifth of a second, team Expansion Phantom took home the “perpetual trophy” — made out of an old road sign.
Team members were also awarded bottles of sparkling cider, which they opened shortly after the victory photo, spraying audience members with the sweet liquid.
